CRICKET AND RISHI RAJ SINGH

Cricket and Rishiraj Singh

His efforts to keep erring motorists out of the road was lauded by many. Now, Transport Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh will be seen hitting the ball out of the stadium, at the inaugural match of SBT Journalist Premier League on Thursday. He is wielding the bat for the star studded celebrity team, also comprising film stars, MLAs and politicians that will go against the Trivandrum Press Club Team.

 

In the midst of the official responsibilities, the moustachioed officer known for his stern ways of maintaining law and order, shared his thoughts about the first ever JPL and also the role of cricket in his life.

He says that he is an ardent admirer of the original little master Sunil Gavaskar. He also cherished his participation in the state level cricket matches, leading his team as a captain, a role which he still continues to play albeit in a different ball game.

“While I was in Hyderabad for the IPS training, I was astounded by the performance of Javed Miandad in the Sharjah cup finals which bestowed Pakistan’s victory against India. I am also a critical enthusiast of the game. I completely respect the ‘Master Blaster’, Sachin Tendulkar who immensely contributed to elevate team India’s game to top level,” said Rishi Raj Singh.

He also opined that Journalist Premier League (JPL) will be a kind of entertainment rather than competitions as the participants are not the professional players. “I foresee the league matches with great expectations. Such events should be regularly conducted every year in order to bridge the gap between people hailing from different strata of the society,” Singh said.

ATTAPADY-THE DARKER SIDE OF KERALA

                     

Talking endlessly about human development would be worthless and incomplete without quoting Mahbub ul Haq whose brainchild was the Human Development Report. According to him, development is to be understood in terms of the people and each activity is to be analyzed to see how much people participate in it and benefit from it. He supports that kind of development which puts people at the centre stage. When we think about human development, children are a section which should not be neglected. To borrow the words of the former U.S. President Herbert Hoover, ‘children are our most valuable resource’. It should not be forgotten that the very destiny of our nation is dependent on this growing generation. Children need extra care since they are our supreme assets and the human resource for the days to come. It should be remembered that if they are not treated properly, their futures would end up in danger. Health is a major factor in the phase of growth of a child and if the children are denied the opportunity to enjoy nutritious food, the condition will be worse than what we can imagine. This report throws light on child malnutrition in the Indian state of Kerala, focusing the specific case of Attappady, a tribal block in the Palakkad district.  Various reports show that the current level of malnutrition in India is unacceptably high. According to UNICEF, malnutrition is more common in India than in the Sub-Saharan Africa. One in every 3 malnourished children in the world lives in India and the levels of malnutrition varies across different states here.  The state of Kerala has a high literacy rate (including female literacy), improved health infrastructure, better nutritional achievements etc. and this is reflected in the various indicators of development. Kerala has performed well in spite of its comparatively lower per capita income. Though there are many reasons to boast of the achievements by Kerala, it should be noted that the development of the state is uneven. Attappady, being one of the largest tribal settlements in the state is one such pocket which suggests that something is wrong in Kerala too. But Keralites, when talking about the grandeur of their homeland, which is known by the sobriquet ‘God’s own country’, fail to realize the plight of people living in the tribal areas. Attappady had been in news since many years for the child deaths which occurred here due to malnutrition.  The infant mortality rate here is 66 per 1000 against the state figure of 14.1 and the maternal mortality rate is 7 per 1000 compared with the state figure of 1.3 per 1000. Many cases of child and women deaths in the area often go unreported. It would not be wrong in saying that most of the people here are deprived of even a hand to mouth existence. They face many challenges and hardships to make both the ends meet. People (even children) are seen begging for alms to have a meal and the scenes of this kind are pitiful. NDTV news featuring Attappady gives it a title- 'The land of dying infants and weeping wombs'.  The reasons behind these deaths, keeping aside the protein malnutrition are many and the ones to be stressed are as follows

   Premature delivery of the infants

·        Poor or improper health facilities

·        High incidence of maternal anaemia

·        Ineffective functioning of the health and social welfare departments and government hospitals.

·        Deliveries by people with no or ill medical knowledge i.e., fewer institutional deliveries.