GoanTimes August,10 2018

02 World
Friday, August 10, 2018 | www.goantimes.titosgoa.com | 12 Pages
WHO Hails Swachh Bharat
Mission, Says Over 3 Lakh
Lives Can Be Saved If India
Achieves 100% Result
In a statement that would encourage
Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), the
World Health Organisation (WHO) said
that around three lakh lives can be
saved if the Swachh Bharat Mission is
implemented fully and properly. These
deaths occur as a result of diarrhea,
water-borne diseases, mosquitoes,
etc. The revelation came as part of
the initial results of the modelling
study on the health impact of the SBM
conducted by the UN body.
The WHO said, if India achieves
100 percent coverage in terms of
safe sanitation services by October
2019, many death caused by water
born diseases and protein-energy
malnutrition can be averted.
“India’s accelerated coverage of safe
Whatsapp
Helpline Of
Indian Railways
Is Being Misused
Whatsapp numbers 9004499773 is for
Western Railways, and 9987645307 for
Central Railways was launched with
the purpose of assisting passengers
with issues of cleanliness, and
punctuality. But little did they knew
what will happen next.
As per Railways officials, these two
helpline numbers are being mainly
used to share Good Morning messages,
funny jokes, shaiyaris, amusing poems
and more.
As of now, only 25 real complaints
have been received – 23 by Western
Railways and 2 by Central Railways.
Ravinder Bhaker, WR spokesperson
has confirmed that a dedicated person
has been allocated to check the
messages regularly, and to respond
promptly.
In January this year, it was reported
that Indians are #1 in the entire world
to forward ‘Good Morning’ messages.
In fact, Whatsapp’ servers experienced
a rare breakdown, when more than 100
crore such messages were shared by
Indians during New Year eve.
Interestingly, fake news and hatred
messages are also shared vehemently
on Whatsapp, and in order to check
this, Whatsapp has now limited the
number of forwards a user can send,
and have labeled forwarded messages
as well.
sanitation services, and its determination
to end open defecation, will have a
substantial effect on the burden of
diarrheal disease and PEM by reducing
mortality and accumulative Disability
Adjusted Life Years (DALYs)—the
sum of the years of life lost due to
premature mortality and years lost due
to disability or ill-health,” the study
stated.
The calculations revealed that if the
sanitation services are used, the SBM
could result in over 14 million more years
of healthy life in the period measured,
with benefits getting visible thereafter.
Speaking at a workshop, Secretary
of Drinking Water and Sanitation
Ministry, Parameshwaran Iyer,
said to The New Indian Express, “I
Govt asks
citizens not to
use national flags
made up of plastic
Ahead of Independence Day, the Centre
has urged all citizens not to use national
flag made up of plastic and asked states
and Union Territories to ensure strict
compliance of the flag code. In an
advisory to states and Union territories,
the Home Ministry said the national flag
represents hopes and aspirations of the
people of India and hence should occupy
a position of honour. The ministry said it
has been brought to its notice that during
congratulate my team in their efforts to
make Swachhta everybody’s business,”
he said. “The estimations apply to the
health impacts from improvements in
sanitation coverage only, meaning it
Entry fee for Taj Mahal,
other monuments hiked
Visitors will have to pay more to visit
Taj Mahal and other monuments, as
the entry fees for these sites have been
hiked for both domestic and foreign
visitors. For Taj Mahal, there has
been a increase by Rs 10 and Rs 100
respectively, from August 08, 2018.
On August 1, the Ministry of Culture
issued a notification stating that the
foreign tourists will now have to shell
out Rs 1100, including the Rs 500 toll
tax collected by Agra Development
Authority (ADA) while the domestic
tourists will pay Rs 50 as against Rs 40.
On the other hand, the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) countries’ visitors will pay
Rs 540, including the Rs 500 toll tax
charged by ADA.
As per a report in The Times of
India, the Archaeological Survey of
India (ASI) has hiked this fee as part
of an entry ticket rate revision of 17
protected monuments. This list of
monuments includes six world heritage
sites in Agra and Delhi. Additionally, a
hike of Rs. 10 has also been imposed on
tourists from SAARC countries.
This is ASI’s second hike in the
entry fee at Taj in the last two and
a half years. In April 2016, the ASI
had raised the entry fee for its
protected monuments. The 'B' category
monuments’ entry fee has also been
increased from Rs 15 to Rs 25 for Indians
and from Rs 200 to Rs 300 for foreigners.
In Agra, the 'A' category monuments
ticketed include Taj Mahal, Fatehpur
Sikri and Agra Fort, while five 'B'
category monuments are Akbar’s Tomb
Sikandra, Mariyam Tomb Sikandra, Ram
Bagh, Itmad-ud-Daula and Mehtab Bagh.
Eight other monuments in Delhi
have also seen a hike in ticket prices
- Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb and
Red Fort, Khan-i-Khana, Purana Qila,
Tughluqabad Fort, Kotla Ferozshah,
Jantar Mantar and Saidarjung Tomb.
Additionally, the Ministry of Culture
has provided a discount for cashless
payment. The domestic tourists will
get a rebate of Rs 5 while the foreign
tourists will enjoy Rs 50 discount
per ticket in both A and B category
monuments, only if tickets are booked
online.
important events, the national flag made
of plastic is used in place of paper flags.
Since plastic flags are not
biodegradable like paper flags, these do
not get decomposed for a long time and
ensuring appropriate disposal of national
flag made of plastic commensurate with
the dignity of the flag, is a practical
problem, the advisory said.
is possible that the broader mission
has produced additional health gains
through changes in personal hygiene
and the consumption of safe drinking
water,” the report said.
Will have to consult
volcano there, says
Sushma Swaraj on
Bali trip query
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj,
known for keeping in touch with people
over Twitter, had everyone in splits
when she said she will need to consult a
volcano in Indonesia in response to an
Indian’s query asking if the government
has any advisory for tourists visiting
the Southeast Asian nation.
“I will have to consult the volcano
there,” Sushma Swaraj said late on
Wednesday night in response to a tweet
by one Sushil Rai.
In his tweet, Rai said: “is it safe to
travel bali (sic). We have a bali (sic)
trip on 11.08.18 to 17.08.18. Is it safe? Is
their (a)ny advisory has been issued by
our govt. Kindly guide us soon.”
Mount Agung in Indonesia’s Bali
island, a popular tourist destination for
Indians, erupted on July 3.
Since June 28, Indonesia’s Centre for
Volcanology and Geological Hazard
Mitigation said the eruption had lasted
under two minutes, with the plume has
recorded increased volcanic activity
from the mountain, which has erupted
several times with different intensities
since late last year.
The eruption of Agung led to the
closure of three airports, including the
one in Bali, affecting 446 flights and
stranded more than 74,000 passengers.
The Indonesian archipelago is
located on the so-called Ring of Fire
in the Pacific, an area of great seismic
and volcanic activity, that records
thousands of mostly small to moderate
tremors every year.