Author: The Metrognome

Categories
Big story

Malnourished in Mumbai

Severely underweight children in the city’s slum pockets in Shivajinagar, Dharavi and Mankhurd add to the already dismal malnourishment figures.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

For long, we’ve considered malnutrition to be a rural problem, far removed from the complexities of urban life. So it comes as a bit of a shock to know that, despite the government’s assurances of working on curbing malnutrition, an urban centre like Mumbai has over 4,500 children falling under the malnourished category. What’s more, Mumbai ranks higher than other urban centres in the state with regards to percentage of malnourished children.

As per the latest government figures for June 2012, released by the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme, which is set up under the Women and Child Welfare Development, Government of Maharashtra, out of a total 2,50,662 children weighed across the ICDS’ aanganwadi network in Mumbai, 4,648 children are severely underweight. The highest numbers come from Shivajinagar, where 511 out of a total 19,152 children surveyed were severely underweight, followed by Kanjurmarg (236 out of 12,122), Mahim, (277 out of 15,456), Andheri-3 (225 out of 12,398) and Mankhurd (192 out of 15,119).

It must be noted that the ICDS has not yet achieved 100 per cent coverage in Mumbai, and the figures disclosed through the June 2012 report may be only a part of the actual figures. Naturally, this means that these figures are indicative of only those children enrolled in the government outreach programme.

The ICDS’ main aim is to improve the health status of children in the age group of zero to 6 years. The aanganwadis are set up in slum pockets to monitor children as well as expectant and new mothers. A report is compiled for all aanganwadi reach and results, apart from data culled from local NGOs. An official from the Women and Child Welfare Department, Government of Maharashtra, said that there was actually an improvement in the figures. “If you compare the figures for June 2011 with the figures culled in June this year, you will see that there is a 10 per cent improvement, in the sense that there is a 10 per cent increase in the numbers of ‘normal’ children weighed,” he told The Metrognome.

Meanwhile, an official from the Rajmata Jijau Mother-Child Health and Nutrition Mission, which takes stock of the ICDS figures and monitors the progress in the affected areas, told The Metrognome, “We visited the Shivajinagar area because the maximum number of severely underweight children were found there. There are a number of reasons for the high incidence in this category – the slums are in the worst condition, there is inadequate sanitation, the water lines are adjacent to gutters, there is no system to remove wastes. Plus, there is a huge migrant population residing there, with their own set of problems – no documentation and little awareness of health and hygiene. We did a micro-project there for five days to determine how to tackle the issue better,” he said.

A major roadblock to immediately treating the children in the moderately underweight to the more ‘dangerous’ severely underweight category, he added, is that the Centre’s funds for malnourished children are earmarked for rural areas and not urban pockets. “However, we have approached private companies who have agreed to help certain pockets which require intervention. Also, we will be setting up centres at Shivajinagar, Dharavi and Mankhurd, the training for which has already taken place. Also, after April 1 next year, the Centre has decided to release funds for urban areas as well, so that should make things easier.”

What do you think the government should do to reduce and eliminate malnutrition from the city? Write in with your views to the editor@themetrognome.in and we will forward them to the Women and Child Welfare Department, Government of Maharashtra.

(Picture courtesy: www.footprintsworld.com)

 

Categories
Trends

Inflation hits spending. Hard.

Middle income groups slash their spending by 65 per cent to manage their monthly household budgets, and to buy necessities.
By The Diarist | thediarist@themetrognome.in

Rising inflation has dented our household budgets, and how – Associated Chamber of Commerce (ASSOCHAM) contends that the country’s middle and lower income groups have cut their spending by a whopping 65 per cent, on such heads as entertainment, vacations, electronics, real estate, automobiles, shopping, and eating out. ASSOCHAM reveals that the middle income groups, especially, are curtailing spending to be able to finance their children’s education and run their homes well, both of which are eating into their savings.

The survey was conducted over a period of two months, beginning March to April 2012 in major metros and cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh, and Dehradun. A little over 200 employees were selected from each city, on an average. The report reads, “Delhi ranks first in curtailing their expenses, followed by Mumbai (at no. 2), Ahmedabad (at no. 3) Chandigarh (4), Kolkata (5), Chennai (6) and Dehradun (7), says DS Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM.”

Key findings from the survey:

– Many middle income and lower income groups indicated that they are finding ways to cut back spending now or indicating they will do so in the future. Around 69 per cent of the respondents have cut down on their saving rate.

– Nearly half of the middle income group either avoid shopping altogether, or shop only for those things that are absolutely needed. Moreover, 76 per cent said that their shopping has been restricted to only necessities.

– About 88 per cent of respondents said that they have cut back on everyday expenses. They save money by avoiding outside food, car-pooling, cutting down on gas and use of electricity.

– Inflation has also impacted the urban male and females’ personal expenses.  The urban male used to spend Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 per month on drinks, cigarettes, gutkha, paan etc. which has come down by 20 per cent due to upward inflation. On the other hand, urban women now spend around Rs 500 to Rs 1000 per month on cosmetics and beauty treatments, which was earlier pegged at Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000.

– One in four said they are going to try to increase their income to try to stay financially afloat, such as switching to a better-paid job, taking a second job option or working overtime hours.

(All figures are sourced from ASSOCHAM. Picture courtesy www.divdevarkhyani.blogspot.com)

Categories
Wellness

Fat. So?

A two-part series that looks at what obesity is doing to young Mumbai, and how to get help in time.
by Dr Jayashree Todkar

Part I

Obesity is striking the young much more than it used to. Today, I am constantly counselling and treating men and women in the 20 to 30 age group, and they are wishing to be treated for a variety of disorders and diseases stemming from obesity or increased weight gain. This age group is the most ‘active’ age group – socially and sexually – but it also the age group that is increasingly sedentary in its lifestyle. Eating the wrong kind of food, little to no exercise, rising amounts of stress, not seeing a doctor for niggling ailments on time – all of these are contributing to the problem.

Obese people also do not link their condition with other things like infertility and diabetes, but there is enough evidence to show that obesity does cause hormonal imbalances, thereby leading to infertility and some cancers, both in men and women.

In women, especially, the incidence of Polycistic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is steadily going up, and several times, the reason is linked to obesity. We feel that obesity only manifests itself in weight gain, but the other physical and psychological impacts it has on the sufferer are complex and immense. For instance, several of my patients who suffer from PCOS take medications to get their menstrual periods on track. Once the medication is taken and the period arrives, they feel they have been cured. But stop the medication, and the problem resurfaces. A woman suffering like this has a harrowing time trying to conceive or take the pregnancy to term. Several times, pregnancy becomes impossible without IVF intervention.

The ovaries are amongst the first to show signs of hormonal distress. Irregular periods are a sign of a lack of healthy egg production; eggs are not fertilised naturally and hence, medications help to fertilise them artificially. I have seen young women show symptoms like highly irregular periods, scanty periods (where the period ends in a day), pre-diabetic conditions and worse, developing sexual characteristics of the opposite sex, such as hirsuitism. In young men, these characteristics could be a large enlargement of breasts (commonly referred to as ‘man boobs’) and deposition of fat around the penis. Men also experience decreased levels of testosterone.

Priyanka Gupta (name changed) called my clinic a few months ago, wanting to meet me but hesitating to come to my clinic. I agreed to meet her at a hotel. When she arrived, her face was entirely draped by a scarf. When she took the scarf off, I had tears in my eyes – her face was very hairy and she needed to wax it every alternate day. She was 28 years old, and her condition had primarily beaten her self-confidence, she couldn’t control her weight, and she hadn’t had a period in 10 years without popping pills. A month after undergoing treatment with me, she called to say that she had had her first period in 10 years without taking medication. Also, her facial hair growth had reduced quite a lot.

Next: How was Priyanka cured? Do you think your health problems could be linked to obesity? Find out in the concluding part of this series, tomorrow.

Dr Jayashree Todkar is visiting bariatric and laparoscopic surgeon, and Director of Obesity and Diabetes Care Centre, Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital, Powai. She holds the distinction of being the first female bariatric surgeon in India.   

Categories
Become

‘Masterchef Australia is great for housewives’

Chef Phongthorn Hinracha
…because it teaches the basics, says chef Phongthorn Hinracha, who’s recently started working at the Red Zen, Courtyard by Marriott.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

He admits to a torrid love affair with food, adding that people are becoming careful about the nutritive value of what they’re putting into their mouths. The executive sous chef at pan Asian restaurant Red Zen has had an illustrious career backing his foray on Indian shores – he has worked with Parisa Resorts in Phuket, Thailand as the executive sous chef, and in some of the finest hotels such as Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort (Malaysia), Koyao Island Resort and Spa Phang-Nga (Thailand) and IOI Palm Garden Hotel (Kuala Lampur). He began his career with the Kohchand Grand Lagoona Resort in Thailand as a sous chef.

In his own words, the famous chef talks about his food journey, retaining the taste of India and what aspiring chefs must do if they have a food dream.

What is your earliest fond memory of food?

My mom’s steamed fish. I remember [the first time] when mom had cooked it, when I was back from fishing. It is eaten with ginger and soya sauce. The dish has a very natural taste of fresh fish. The sauce used is locally made, not factory made. Even now when I go to back to Thailand, I ask my mom to make it for me.

What was the first dish you ever cooked? Whose recipe was it?

Thai omelette is the first dish I ever cooked. It contains fish sauce, meat and pepper. It goes well with rice. Singles in Thailand generally cook such food. [When I cook it now] I like to improvise by adding some curry paste and basil.

Please describe the moment when you decided that food was your calling, and that you wanted to make a career in food.

My family is very involved in every aspect of food. Many of my family members are chefs. There are some perceptions about adult life that are created during childhood, for instance, when a person grows up he has to work, or has to get married, or simply that a person has to become tall! Because of my family’s involvement in food, I had the perception that when I grow up, I have to become a chef. Hence I started working and helping my dad in his restaurant business since the age of 10. My passion started increasing every day, seeing people getting happy eating food. My creativity started developing. At the age of 16 or 17, I asked myself, ‘Is this what I want?’, and do you know what the answer was? The answer was, ‘This is not a want, but an involuntary need just like eating food, or the heart beating or breathing’.

Tell us what your favourite cuisine is.

Chinese is my favourite cuisine. It’s again because of my family. I’ve been eating Chinese food since childhood. I like it may be since I’m habituated [to it]. It has a real taste of fresh ingredients. The taste is very clear, with no complexity.

What was your first job like? For how long did you work there?

If you’re asking [about] my first paid job, then it was at the age of 17 at the Marina Hotel. I was a kitchen apprentice. My father’s friend was an executive chef there. I worked there for six months. But I’ve been working and helping my father in his restaurant business since the age of 10.

What differences do you see in the food industry from the time you started out, and now?

When I started off, people loved to eat food that was great in taste. But now, people care about healthy food. They worry about the intake of calories, carbs, proteins, vitamins etc.

Have you ever worked in India before? What has your experience been like till now?

No, this is my first ever visit to India. It’s been a great experience with [a] new culture. I used to never eat Indian food earlier. Now, I’ve started eating Indian food, especially butter chicken and chicken tikka masala with garlic naan.

Coming to work in India, with its defined palate of spices and flavours, have you had to do things differently since you came here?

I have preserved the authenticity of the food, except when my guests request me to adjust the food to their tastes.

What qualities should a sous chef possess?

The ability to judge the quality of food, extremely high levels of hygiene and proper planning are the three keys to being a good sous chef. (In his current role, amongst other things, chef Hinracha is involved in preparing menus and designing daily specials as required. He is responsible for the quality of the food, hygiene matters and monitoring the kitchen.)

Please describe how a person can set up his/her own restaurant. What are the skills, technology, knowledge, funding required? How did you plan the setting up and opening of your own restaurant?

Not anyone can open and run a successful restaurant. Budget planning, location setting, equipment selection, manpower hiring, marketing, know-hows of current trends of that area are all necessary, and if he possesses cooking skills,  it’s an added advantage. Service skills are also very important. I planned my restaurant in the same way. During the operating hours, I don’t be in the kitchen, but instead I be in the guest area. I get regular customers by chatting with them.

What is your opinion of the various cooking shows on television these days? Even non-cooks are interested in shows like Masterchef Australia.

These shows are very helpful for housewives. They show a good amount of the basic skills required for cooking. It’s a stage for inspiration.

How can one build on a new trend in the food industry? Also, how can one start their own trend in the food world?

People should keep a tab on food science. News [about and] from food science helps a lot. Earlier not many people drank green tea, but now a lot of them do drink it. Also, once you become  a celeb chef, then it’s easier to start your own trend as celebs will start talking about your food.

Do you wish you had done a few things differently in the beginning of your career? What would you do differently?

Due to my passion for food, I started working at a very early age. I had a romantic relationship with food. I wished I had completed my degree. May be it could have helped me.

What is your advice to aspiring chefs in India?

Taste a lot. Read a lot and make sure the food trends around you, you jot!

Chef Hinracha owns Maha Sarakham, a restaurant 300 kilometres from Bangkok. He has won many carving competitions in Phuket. His culinary flair earned him the sixth place in the Best Asian Chef category at the Hospitality Asian Platinum Awards 2010-2011 held in Malaysia. He has also participated in the series, ‘Thai Ultimate Chef Challenge 2011-2012’ held in Bangkok. When he’s not cooking, he enjoys fishing, food photography and food carving.

Categories
Big story

Train man

Ketan Goradia plans to decongest the Railways and save lives. Good news is, the Railways are receptive to his ideas.
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

Ketan Goradia (38) is not a railway engineer, he has had no formal training in how the Indian Railways work, and up till now, he had no idea of the level of persistence one requires to pursue government officials. But the Vile Parle resident, a civil engineer, has drawn up a set of comprehensive, workable plans to decongest the Western, Central and Harbour railway lines, which will save lives, prevent access to freeloaders and increase the capacity of all three lines by 100 per cent. What is heartening for him, is that the state’s chief minister is willing to let him make a 30-minute presentation, explaining the plans and their costs, to the Railway Board this week.

“Two years ago, I was travelling by train to Kalamboli, when a man fell out of the crowded train after Kurla and died on the tracks. I will never forget that sight,” Ketan recalls, adding that the incident shook him out of the complacency that most Mumbaikars are cursed with – that of thinking, ‘Bad things happen to other people’. “I wondered – what if it was me, who fell out of the crowded train and died? The Railways say that at least eight lives are lost due to train-related deaths every day. I thought I should study the problem and see if there was any solution.”

A voracious reader, Ketan set about studying the Railways’ existing plans and how tracks were laid, apart from commuters’ usage patterns. “Within a few months, I drew up a plan to decongest Churchgate and CST stations. The idea was to connect the Central and Western railways by a tunnelled network. We studied the timetables and which stations had the most congestion in peak hours. There was also a proposal to have a circular elevated Harbour line. All of these measures would reduce commuter congestion and most importantly, prevent deaths while crossing tracks.”

He contends that people cross tracks as “a matter of convenience” to get from one line to another, or to access another platform quickly. “Hence, it is necessary to prevent access to the tracks in the first place. We showed the proposal to the then Railways minister Dinesh Trivedi and railway board member (for Traffic) KK Shrivastav, who both said the plan was workable. I was sent to local railway engineers. But throughout, the feedback I got was that the Maharashtra government would have to pitch in with some percentage of the funds for the project. So I met then Chief Secretary Ratnakar Gaikwad, who said that the state would chip in with 50 per cent of the funds but that the proposal would have to come through the Indian Railways,” Ketan says.

Then Mamata Banerjee replaced Trivedi and the plan fell by the wayside. “But I was still studying the issue, still meeting with officials in Delhi and Maharashtra. I was lucky that I knew people who could connect me with the top officials in both governments and the Railways, or else I may not have been granted a meeting also. If I had gone from the bottom to the top of the hierarchy, I would have been stonewalled at each step,” he says.

Ketan also met a lot of ex-Railwaymen, who gave him inputs and shared their delight that somebody was doing the things that the Railways should have been doing. “I studied world Railway systems, especially the one at Hong Kong, which has the capacity of carrying 80,000 people per hour, per line coming and going. In our context, this was possible only with a metro line. The present trains were not up to the mark, even the signalling was not perfect. A few motormen told me that they literally cry every time they run over a person, but what could they do? At present, the train can stop only after 180 metres once the brakes are applied. If a person suddenly appears in front  of the train and the brakes are immediately applied, they are still going to run over the person,” he explains.

He came up with two solutions to the problem – one, isolate the system in such a way that people cannot get on to the tracks, and two, the platforms should be designed in such a way that they don’t feel the need to cross from one to the other. “We drew plans where the trains were unidirectional, and not going from fast to slow tracks, which disturbs the overall efficiency. In all, we drew up plans for 20 new lines for all of Mumbai, which would make the city the largest metro system in the world, greater even that Shanghai. This would necessitate the creation of underground stations and new stations, as well as a complete overhaul of some parts of the system.” (See ‘What some of the proposals say’ below for some of the proposals).

His other findings were that the Central Railway suburban services were functioning at a maximum 23 per cent capacity, the Western at 32 per cent and the Harbour at 27 per cent. “Unless these peak efficiencies were increased, we would continue to grapple with problems of congestion,” he explains.

“I have met the Chief Minister, finance minister Jayant Patil and Supriya Sule, several officials of MRVC, the Railway Board, and all of this was possible due to the efforts of legistlator Vidya Chavan, who got me meetings with politicians. The CM has said that he will let me make a 30-minute presentation when the Railway Board visits the state on Monday (October 15). He is very receptive to the idea, and so is MMRDA, which granted me two hours for a presentation last week, so I am hopeful that the plans will be put into operation.”

He says that he is not looking for credit, and he doesn’t mind that his plans had to be formally proposed by the Railways. “As long as somebody – anybody – takes up the matter and tries their best to increase the efficiency of the system, we will not lose precious lives and time while using the Railways,” he says.

What some of the proposals say:

– Phase I will increase capacity of all three lines by 100 per cent. This will take two to three years.

– Phase II will allow metro and local train services to increase connectivity to the new areas of Thane district like Kaman Road, Kharbao and Bhiwandi, and areas in Raigad district around Nhava Sheva, Uran, Panvel on Panvel-Kalamboli-Diva route, etc. The Railways will coordinate with the state government, BMC, MMRDA and CIDCO, to create an integrated road-rail-metro system to ensure that the need for at least 15 years of integrated mass transport requirement is taken care of.

– Station upgradation with modern facilities and aesthetics.

– One wholesale-cum-retail market to be added to each station for each category of goods to leverage Mumbai’s present strength as a wholesale market.

– Creating a new world-class common terminus near Kaman road station for out-station trains, which will allow trains of WR, CR, Konkan Railway and south-bound trains to leave from this common terminus and provide greater efficiency.

– Hydraulic train doors and air-conditioning.

(Train picture courtesy mumbai.jbss.in)

Categories
Hum log

‘I love working for the CM’

Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan’s chief PRO Satish Lalit talks about his job, his boss and dealing with the media daily.
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

It must be wonderful being the public relations man for the most powerful man in Maharashtra. But Satish Lalit (52), chief PRO for Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, says he has his good and bad days. He was born 12 years after his boss, but they have a lot in common, apart from their long working hours and a love for reading and research; they even share a birthday, March 17. “I go to his house in the morning to wish him, and he wishes me in return!” laughs Satish. “Our job is a 24/7 one, and the CM works really long hours. He lets me go by 10.30 pm, while he works till 2 am every day.”

It is Satish’s job to monitor what the media is writing and speaking about his boss, how to bring about (or decline requests for) media interactions with the CM, write press notes after Cabinet meetings, write speeches for the CM’s public appearances and rallies, and be ready to brief him on any subject at a moment’s notice.

Satish became chief PRO under the other Chavan – Ashok – who was the CM of the state till November 2010. So how did Prithviraj Chavan, who became CM right after Ashok Chavan and who had come from Delhi reportedly with no idea about the state’s style of working,  get around to learning the ropes in Maharashtra? Satish says, “For the first two weeks, we would be with him all through the day, helping him meet people he had never seen in his life, rapidly briefing him about every meeting and the subjects that would come up in them. But he is a really fast learner – he picked up names and issues really quickly,” Satish says.

But Chavan was in for several culture shocks; he was particularly peeved at how people simply waltzed in and out of his office without prior appointments. “He said to me, ‘In Delhi, if anybody had to meet me, they had to have an appointment. And even then, they would pass through three rings of security.’ But he soon understood that with a state of this size, and with all its issues, he would have to meet people at a moment’s notice.”

Satish says that for a job like his, trust between his boss and him is of the essence. “I also have to write well and quickly, because I issue daily press releases and compose the CM’s speeches. Plus, I have to be on excellent terms with the media, especially when asking them to rectify mistakes made, or while suggesting a news angle.”

Writing and research come easily to Satish – a former journalist with the Marathi newspapers Sakal, Kesari and Maharashtra Times, he joined the Maharashtra government in 1991 as a Class I gazetted officer. “I’ve worked in the state’s District Information offices and even in Goa, before I came back to head the news department in Mumbai in 2000,” he says. A fruitful stint with the Mantralaya DGIPR (Director General of Information and Public Relations) in two phases and intermediate postings to Kolhapur later, Ashok Chavan appointed him chief PRO in 2010.

“Luckily for me, Prithviraj Chavan retained our team when he joined office, so I’ve been with him since his first day as CM,” Satish says. His days revolve around briefings, meetings, writing articles for the CM, and reading and keeping tabs on TV news. “I go to Varsha (the CM’s residence at Malabar Hill) at 9 am for his morning media briefing. We discuss the press coverage for the day, any incorrect reportage and what to do about it. My day is structured around the CM’s schedule. The busiest days are Wednesdays, when Cabinet meetings happen. It is a big event for us,” he explains.

When writing press notes, he is careful to state only facts and figures. “Journalists keep hounding me for ‘who said what’ details, but I only state the decisions made, the financial burdens of those decisions and how they will be implemented. If I feel that the CM needs to hold a press conference, I advise him so and release the press notes later,” he explains.

In recent times, with so much media proliferation and every political reporter clamouring for a bit of news, Satish is subject to various harrowing and comical moments. “The worst is when an incorrect news is published. I have to ensure that the mistake is set right; one slip-up can have bad repercussions for the CM’s office. And mistakes are happening all the time, every day, because everybody is in such a hurry to put news out there.”

He recounts the time when the CM, glancing at the TV screen in his office, was stunned by a news flash claiming that he had left for Delhi on an urgent summons. “I immediately called the reporter and told him that the CM was sitting in his chair in front of me and that he was not going to Delhi soon. They took the item off air, but I had to field calls from other irate reporters demanding to know why I didn’t inform them of the CM’s trip,” Satish laughs. “But the CM never loses his temper, a rare quality for a person in his position.”

What many outside the Mantralaya and journalistic circles don’t know, is that Satish and his team were the heroic few to escape the recent Mantralaya fire via window ledges and drain pipes. Satish’s trekking hobby – he has seen more than 80 forts in Maharashtra – could have saved him that day. He laughs at the suggestion. “I was lucky to get out in time. Another minute, and I would have collapsed.” He is also an avid photographer, is the first government PRO to maintain a daily blog on the state’s workings, has published a book and is working on another, and has made five documentaries on Sindhudurg, where he comes from. “I have six more years of government service left. The media is expanding, and so is our work. Sometimes, I feel that this is a thankless job. But if you have a good person to work under, it becomes easier,” he smiles.

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