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Namastute.


Saturday, May 30, 2009

‘Orissa’s climate is deteriorating rapidly’

The Pioneer,Bhubaneswar,30th May 2009:

What the Water Initiatives Orissa (WIO) had found out three years ago have been substantiated now by a World Bank report, titled Climate Change Impacts in Drought and Flood Affected Areas: Case Studies in India.The World Bank report, which took Orissa as a case study of flooding in the scenario of climate change, has referred to projections that ‘temperatures, precipitation, and flooding are likely to increase, with adverse impacts on crop yields and farm incomes, and among the more substantial effects, is a spatial shift in the pattern of rainfall towards the already flood-prone coastal areas’.

Three years ago, the WIO had found out significant increase in average annual rainfall in coastal districts like Balasore and Puri. Now, the World Bank report has projected 23 per cent increase in annual mean rainfall in that region.
This shift in rainfall will result in ‘dramatic increase in the incidence of flooding’, says the report. Elaborating further, the report cautions that the probability of discharge exceeding 25,000 cubic metres per second (about 9 lakh cusec) at Naraj may grow from the present 2 per cent to 10 per cent due to climate change.

The World Bank report has also mentioned that average annual maximum temperature will increase between 2.3 to 3.7 degree Celsius. This is also one trend that the WIO has already established very clearly with startling figures that average annual highest recorded temperature has increased everywhere in Orissa and up to 6.6 degree Celsius in centres like Sambalpur in just a decade. Even cities with moderate climates like Puri and Gopalpur centres have shown an increase of 2 degree Celsius or more.Following on that finding, the WIO had pursued a State-wide public perception study of climate change. The study clearly indicated such distinct geographical phenomenon within the State including extraordinarily high changes in temperature in some places, especially in the coal/mining and industrial belts, the temperature rise has surpassed by several degrees from the average increase that has been found out by the WB.

“We are continuously alerting people about serious climate degradation in Orissa since we have found unnatural trends. But required seriousness has not been shown. Now, we cannot escape without serious intervention by the Government. So far as organisations like World Bank are concerned they often release such reports as a prelude to more loans. But till now the World Bank or any other such organisation have not laid out any major climate change mitigation plans, except the coastal livelihood project,” said Convener, Water Initiatives Orissa, Ranjan K Panda.

“We demand serious action and strategic intervention to include environment conservation in real earnest. For that we need to have a clear and well laid out ‘Orissa Climate Change Action Plan.’ Without waiting for big loans from World Bank-like institutions we can utilize the NREGS to create climate combating resources. We must act now to stop disasters from happening and not wait for eternity when we are left bereft of any option to reverse the damage,” he further urged.

Orissa among top in tobacco consumption

New Indian Express, Bhubaneswar,30th May 2009:

Despite anti-tobacco campaigns gaining momentum through high profile Government initiatives and other social awareness campaigns, tobacco consumption in the country continues to be very high. And, Orissa features among the top in the ladder of tobacco consumption.Almost half of the State’s population is addicted to tobacco in one form or the other in contrast to one-third nationally.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) study on tobacco use during pregnancy as well as exposure of pregnant women and their young children to second-hand smoke has also pressed the alarm bells. It reveals that one-third of all pregnant women in Orissa consume smokeless tobacco and most are often exposed to secondhand smoke. Smokeless tobacco use can lead to oral and pancreatic cancers and incidentally these are on rapid rise in the State.Besides, Orissa has gained the dubious distinction of being second in tobacco consumption among women after Mizoram. The percentage of girls (15 years and above) chewing some form of tobacco is at a high of 50 percent plus the increase in the percentage of women smokers from mere 0.9 per cent to 6 per cent within five to six years, as per the latest NFHS-3 survey, portrays the ominous future.

The Union Health Ministry’s monograph has categorised Orissa in the intermediary low bracket (prevalence range between 1.1 - 2.9 percent) with regard to bidi consuming population but the danger lies in the high usage of Gudakhu made up of tobacco and molasses in Orissa. Chewing tobacco in the form of betel, gutkha, khani and snuff is also at a very high incidence level. In addition to the above facts, the pointers like three-fourth of illiterates use tobacco along with 40 percent in the highest and lowest quintile and more women in the ST population sum up the enormity of the situation.

The facts seem out of place when the Union Government is spending Rs 2.5 cr on tobacco control per year as per WHO’s Global Tobacco Epidemic Report-2008 released recently. The inference is much more endeavour is required from the State agencies to launch a massive anti-tobacco programme in the rural areas to make the State ‘tobacco free’. The World No Tobacco Day to be observed on Sunday could be a start.

Calamities eating into Orissa’s development

New Indian Express,Bhubaneswar,30th May 2009

Natural calamities are not just a drain on the exchequer of the State, they also are eating into the development pie of Orissa. What’s more, the spending on drought and flood mitigation is exceeding expenditure on sectoral development programmes and it could be bad news for a deficit-ridden State.

Between 1965 and 2006, the State had faced at least 17 droughts, 20 floods, eight cyclones and a super cyclone.There are half a dozen depressions taking place off Orissa coast battering its life and property every year.With climate change threatening to increase the incidence of flooding in the State - the latest World Bank report warns this - Orissa may just have to cough up more in the days to come.

Sample this: During the Tenth Plan Period, State’s spending on mitigation of drought and flood was actually more than its expenditure on development sectors.The total estimated expenditure on sectoral programmes during 2002-2007 stood at Rs 53.87 bn as against the outlay of Rs 73.79 bn whereas the spending on the mitigation of natural calamities was a whopping Rs 66.77 bn.It meant, Orissa spent 25 per cent more on fighting calamities than on development programmes.

The report acknowledges it saying natural disasters being high on frequency, Orissa has to pay a heavy price and that in a span of four years between 2002 and 2006, the cost of relief far exceeded the development expenditure.During the Tenth Plan period, spending on agriculture and allied activities was Rs 2.69 bn while the expenditure on rural development was Rs 7.96 bn.The expenditure on special area programmes was Rs 18.80 bn. The biggest spending of Rs 24.42 bn was on irrigation and flood control.In fact, the Plan outlay during the period was Rs 73.79 bn. Against it, the total allocation for calamities mitigation was Rs 105.96 bn and expenditure stood at Rs 66.77 bn.‘‘The fiscal strain is substantial since the Central reimbursements against flood reliefs are usually lower than the requests for assistance,’’ the World Bank report said.