THE SHILLONG TIMES, SHILLONG, SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2020 (SIX) THE SHILLONG TIMES, SHILLONG, SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2020 (SEVEN)

The Shillong TimesVol No: LXII No.219 SHILLONG, SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2020

TO THE EDITOR

‘‘All our final decisions are made in astate of mind that is not going to last.’’

--- Anthony Robbins

Articles and lettersappearing on this pageare the views of thewriters/authors and notthat of The Shillong Times

Covid – 19 has taken theworld by storm, bothliterally and metaphorically.The world at large isstruggling to deal with thisand one hopes that it willsucceed in tackling thishealth issue sooner thanlater. As of now, asscientists say, it is quite afew months away before aneffective vaccine can bediscovered. In India, too,both Central and stategovernments are tryinghard to contain the spreadof this virus in whateverway it is possible. The taskseems mammoth given thesize of our population andthe dismal state of affairs inthe public health system.The Government ofMeghalaya and Centralinstitutions located in thestate such as the North-Eastern Hill Universityhave made timelyintervention to ensure thatthe spread of the virus isarrested by takingappropriate measures.While we are all waitingwith bated breath for the endof the spread of the coronavirus, a few sociologicalimplications of this may betaken up to contextualisethis phenomenon. I wish topoint out five suchimplications.

First, what this virus hasdone is that it has turnedmodernity upside down.The distinction betweenthe private (home) and thepubic (office) which was aproduct of Europeanmodernity has collapsed.‘Work from home’ hasbecome the new normativestandard. Even the Centralgovernment wants at leastfifty percent of itsemployees to work fromhome, not to speak of theprivate companies. Whatsociological implicationsthis will have for relationsbetween employers andemployees, the quality ofwork, family structure etc.it is too early to judge. Butcertainly this would forceus to rethink some of thefundamental suppositionsof modernity.

Secondly, it has posed aserious threat to Capital(capitalists will have a toughtime dealing with this). Asper the available estimatesmillions of jobs havealready been lost and manymore are in the process of

The Sociologyof COVID-19

By D V Kumar

being lost. What this meansis that there is going to be agreater suppression ofdemand. Capital thrives ondemand. Weakening ofdemand contributes todecrease of profits by wayof reduction in prices ofgoods and services. Thiswould force the capitalists

to reduce the wages ofemployees which in turncontributes to furtherdepression in demand. Thiseffectively becomes avicious circle and one doesnot quite know how toovercome this exceptperhaps by way ofgovernments intervening inthis. This is what happenedduring the Great Depressionin the 1930s. Governmentsintervened by pumpingmoney into the economywhich led to an increase indemand thus helping thecause of capitalists. Butright now whethergovernments are in aposition to do that, one isnot quite sure.

Thirdly, faith in the

scientific understanding ofany phenomenon isreaffirmed. People arelooking for scientificexplanations about thecause of the virus and themeasures to contain itsspread. This is what RajeevBhargava, a well-knownpolitical theorist, in his

article Revisiting scientifictemper (The Hindu, 18thMarch 2020) says about therespect the evidence-basedreasoning is given in thepresent times, a ‘smallvictory for the empirical-causal worldview’. Thoughthere have been someattempts to offer someirrational explanations forthis phenomenon, nobodyseems quite keen onaccepting them.

Fourthly, the uncriticalbut popular use of the term‘social distancing’ (distanceof one meter, shaking ofhands, for example) tocontain the spread of thevirus seems quiteproblematic. What is orshould be called ‘physical

World Water Day 2020provides an excellentopportunity to start thinkingabout the steps that need tobe taken following theadoption of the MeghalayaState Water Policy in2019.The policy provides anumber of interestingstarting points for streng-thening water regulation inthe state but also raises anumber of questions thatneed to be addressed beforemoving forward. There are anumber of more specificelements requiring furtherdebate, of which this articleaddresses the followingfour:

Need to protect people’sfundamental right to water

The water policyappropriately gives priorityto drinking water in the wateruse allocation,in line withwhat other state waterpoliciesdo. At the same time,it entirely omits any referenceto the fundamental right towater, a right we all rely on tomeet our basic daily waterneeds and is thus at thecentre of water regulation.The water policy alsoignores water needs linkedto the realisation of otherfundamental rights, such asthe rights to food, health andlivelihood.What is evenmore surprising is that wherethere is a reference to peopleentitled to claim thefundamental right to water,they are referred to asconsumers. This unfor-tunately reduces the linkbetween water users and thestate to a transactionalrelationship. Besides failingto mention people’s rights,the water policy seems to bebased on the idea thatindividuals can be blamed forwhat may otherwise be seenas part of the government’sduty to act. Thus, the policyargues that ‘[l]ow publicconsciousness aboutjudicious use of water andits economic value alsoresults in its wastage andinefficient use’.Each one ofus should indeed be mindfulof our water use and beenvironmentally conscious.Yet, this is a governmentpolicy and it needs to firstreflect the rights of peopleand the obligations of thegovernment. Rights relatedto water are to be fulfilled bythe government, whoseprimary responsibility is toensure the realisation offundamental rights. As such,the question is not whetherpeople have ‘expectations’to better access to water butthe fact that the governmenthas a duty to providesufficient and safe water toall individuals entitled to it.

Central role of the statein ensuring water justice

In response to theproblems identified in thewater sector, the policyproposes a new way ofmanaging water capturedunder the concept ofIntegrated Water ResourcesManagement (IWRM). Thishas been the standardresponse of governmentsaround the world for severaldecades. On the one hand,IWRM provides tools torealise the proposed‘integrated and holisticapproach’, namely look atwater in a broad sense. Onthe other hand, IWRM hasbeen linked with a pushtowards water privatisation,economisation of water, andefficiency. In the water policy,this leads to the propositionthat there is a need to set up‘an efficient and effectiveregulatory framework for thewater sector in order to realizethe economic value ofwater’. This is to be realisedthrough the setting up ofan(independent) waterregulatory authority. Theproposal for a new authorityis not a reflection of anabsence of institutions in thewater sector but rather anattempt to sideline existinggovernment bodies in favourof governance by expert-smeant to depoliticisedecision-making.

The problem is that wateris not and should not be seenas a good to be efficientlyallocated by the market.Further, while scarcity isincreasingly an issue inMeghalaya, it is not the onlyrelevant issue as befits a statethat also benefits fromplentiful rainfall. Rather,water governance should bebased around social equityand the need to protectwater sources and

World Water DayTime To Think Beyond The

State Water Policy 2019 By Philippe Cullet

watersheds, based onexisting local arrangements.This can be captured underthe concept of water justice,which gives a central placeto the shared nature of water,concerns for social equity,the need for protection ofecosystems and the duty ofthe state to provide sufficientclean water. Ensuring justiceis one of the primaryfunctions of the state whoserole in the water sector is thuscrucial.

Foster decision-makingat the local level

Decision-making relatedto water use and protectionshould be at the local levelbecause people usually relyon local water sources fortheir daily water needs. Thisis in line with the idea ofdecentralisation and theprinciple of subsidiarity,according to which anyaction should be taken at themost local level, unless it isnot appropriate to do so.

In this context, the waterpolicy only recognisestheneed to ‘[p]romote andsupport community partici-pation in development andmanagement of waterresources’. This soundspromising at first sight butcommunity participation ison the whole jargon forconsultation without the rightto decide. Further, partici-pation should not be linkedto the withdrawal of the statefrom its functions, as seemsto be proposed wherecommunities are ‘enco-uraged to take up cleaning ofrivers from time to time’. Thefocus should be on ensuringthat local issues can beaddressed at the local leveland that decisions may betaken democratically at thelowest possible level. Thisshould also go hand in handwith the strengthening ofmechanisms to ensure thatthe government from thelocal to the state level can bemade accountable for actionsit takes.

Prioritise conservationand local needs

The water policy is meantto provide a framework foraddressing the state’s waterneeds in terms ofconservation and use. Yet, itgives much more importanceto water use than protection.The focus on use is notsurprising to the extent thatwe need access to watersimply to stay alive but thisaccess can only be ensuredif water sources andwatersheds are effectivelyprotected. Protection of watersources and ecosystemsthus cannot be subsidiary asis the case here.

The lopsided focus onuse is also apparent in theidea that there may be‘surplus water’, which can beexported to other parts of thecountry. On the one hand,this may be seen as a gestureof solidarity with other partsof the country. On the otherhand, the concept of surpluswater on which inter-linkingof rivers is built is a fallacy inenvironmental terms. Thewater policy of the stateshould thus be preferablybuilt around its own needs,including that of its riverineecosystems.

Next stepsWidespread public

engagement with theconcepts proposed in thepolicy is necessary beforeadopting new water laws andregulations called for in thewater policy. Other states aregoing through similarprocesses, such as MadhyaPradeshcurrently draftingthe Right to Water (Equitableand Sustainable Use) Act.Similar efforts are needed inMeghalaya since a number ofentitlements recognised bythe Supreme Court, like thefundamental right to water,have not been enshrined instate legislation yet. Therecent government plan torejuvenate some riversconfirms that it is keenlyaware of the importance ofwater. This needs, however,to be taken up moresystematically and on a largerscale, so that the whole statebenefits from similarmeasures. A new regulatoryframework will contribute tothis.

Prof. Philippe Cullet isSenior Visiting Fellow,Centre for Policy Research,Delhi &Professor ofEnvironmental Law, SOASUniversity of London -pcullet@cprindia.org

You can hangthe crook butnot the ‘soch’Editor,India could not have

woken up to a bettermorning. I had neverimagined that I'd personallybe so elated by the news ofanybody being killed.Whatever the nature ormagnitude of a crime, I'vealways had reservationsabout capital punishment,but this is different.Nirbhaya's story washorrifying enough evenwithout the details; add toit the description of howthey pulled her insides out,leaving just 5% of intestinein her body and why theydid that. I do not think thateven Jesus of Nazareth, hadhe been the judge, wouldhave pardoned thesemonsters.

Then there are people likeA.P Singh and M.L Sharma,their defendants who kepttrying to delay theinevitable until their lastdrop of blood, until everypossible loophole in ourextremely compassionatelegal system was exploitedand exhausted. Also,there's a reason Imentioned the 'Why' in thesame breath as the 'What'-because it airs someinexplicable mysoginisticviews which are vital to bediscussed in order to

address and change them,because the reason behindboth, the gangrape, and thelawyers of the rapistsdefending them with theirheads held high is the same- the belief (in their ownadmission) that decentwomen do not roam aroundfreely at night, and mostcertainly not with a malepartner who's not either herfather, brother or husband.

M.L Sharma and A.PSingh's sophisticatedcomparison of women toflowers and diamonds andthat they would have burnttheir own daughters alive ifthey went out with boys,transpires an unsettlingdisgust, equally disturbingas the raw, uneducatedviolence of the rapists, if notmore. If educated men of lawthink and act like this, howare they any different fromthe beasts they arerepresenting?

Yes, it is our duty topunish the guilty and wehave done that today, butthere's a larger question thatpresents itself before us -Who or what is the realenemy of humanity? Is it theperpetual rapist? Or is it thelawyer shamelesslydefending him ? Or is it oursociety itself that producessuch products of pooreducation, of centuries ofignorance and patriarchy,and of violence andimpunity? Think about it.

Yours etc.,Fahd Alam Hazarika,

Guwahati

Plug the legalloopholes

Editor,It is a matter of

satisfaction that finally fourconvicts of the Nirbhayarape-cum-death case wereultimately hanged to deathat 5.30 am on March 20, aftercrossing all hurdles createdby lawyers of convictsincluding last-moment mid-night effort to knock thedoors of the court. Evenpoliticians cutting acrossparty-lines expressedsatisfaction on final justicebeing delivered to Nirbhayawho faced the mostinhuman torture onDecember 16, 2012.

The legal loopholesbrought in the whole affaircalls for immediate reformsin the system wherebycrimes attracting death-penalty may be heard onfast track at all stages of trialfrom District Court toSupreme Court. Provision offiling mercy petition maynot be allowed in case thedeath sentence is confirmedby all the courts. Review orcurative petitions may beallowed only at the SupremeCourt; that too to be finallydecided within a fortnightof filing these. Mercy-petitions to be decided in atime-bound period ofmaximum three months maybe allowed only when anyof the courts might nothave approved death-sentence.

Early and extra hangingsthat too to really deservingones will practically savelives of many more bypreventing rapes andmurders, as criminals willonly then be fearful ofdeath penalty. Since rapecan be executed only by amatured mind, minor rapistsmust not be freed but givenlife-sentence

Yours etc.,Madhu Agrawal,

Delhi - 6

Range of stepsagainst

COVID-19Editor,It is noteworthy that

Prime Minister, Modi, in hisaddress to the nation urgedthe people of India to stayat home and avoid publictransport such as trains andbuses. This is a fightagainst a war which isdeadly and marching ahead.Covid19 cases are growingevery day. India presentlyhas around 200 positivecases of Corona while 4have died. In such a criticalsituation, cooperation ofevery individual is ofutmost importance andawareness is required foreveryone. I expect that thepeople of India willcontinue to follow allgovernment instructionsthoroughly and participatein the Janta curfew to haltthe pandemic because we

can together defeat thisvirus.

Yours etc,,Md Nur Musaeed,

Mumbai

OutdatedEpidemic

Diseases ActEditor,In the wake of COVID-19,

a public health emergencyhas arisen in India. Duringsuch a crisis, effective andpractical measures need tobe taken to look after thehealth of people. Theoutbreak of COVID-19 inIndia may mutate into anIndia specific variant. Eversince COVID-19 cases havestarted going up in India,there is a possibility ofexplosion of the infection.

It is a fact that copingwith such a healthemergency is a huge andarduous task. A lot of factorsneed to be taken intoaccount in the attempts tocontain the pandemic. Legalfactors create hurdles in thepath of battling COVID-19.The Union governmentrecently advised the statesto invoke the EpidemicDisease Act of 1897. It isironic that this 123-year-oldAct does not even definewhat an epidemic is. Thisoutdated Act is not suitablefor dealing with theCoronaVirus.

Many countries havedeveloped their own laws to

deal with public health.They have ameliorated thelaws to suit healthemergencies. However,India does not have suchspecific and clearly definedlaws. The Act fails to evendefine a dangerous disease.It does not instructanything about preventivesteps or what kind ofvaccines/drugs are to beused. The concept ofhuman rights is notexplained. There arereferences to only pettypunishments and fines forviolation of laws. Eventhough the Centre attem-pted to implement someother laws, they were notacceptable to the states.

When states want totake some measures, to dealwith a health crisis, it willnot get legal backing. Forinstance, measures suchas quarantine, lockdown,distribution of medicineswill face legal problems.

Hence there is an urgentneed to update our laws.Otherwise, in future legalproblems will arise in thefight against diseases.Priority must be given tohealth of people andeffective laws will enablethe government to combatepidemics efficiently.

Yours etc.,Venu GS

Via e mail

distancing’ has come to becalled ‘social distancing’which is an abstractcategory and has gotnothing to do with how thevirus spreads. Two personscould be within the distanceof one metre (this is what isto be avoided) and yetmaintain social distance.Conversely, two personscould be miles away fromeach other and yet do notmaintain any socialdistance. For example, aTamil and a Mizo, for all weknow, could be within thedistance of one metre andyet maintain social distancein terms of their differenceson a number of issues suchas food habits. which iswhat could be called socialdistancing. Similarly, twoTamils could be miles awayfrom each other and yetshare a number of thingswhich amounts to theabsence of any socialdistancing. It is remarkablehow the world has come touse this term so uncritically.Perhaps the onlyexplanation for thissemantic confusion is thatsocial distancing is a morerespectable term thanphysical distancing.

Finally, Covid19 hasproved to be a greatequaliser in that it does notmake a distinction betweenthe rich and the poor. Infact, a number of peoplewho are affected happen tobelong to upper classes, asis evident from their foreigntravels. Conventionally,infectious diseases(cholera, for example) aresupposed to be theexclusive preserve ofmarginalised and poorersections of the society asthey have no access toclean water and hygienicfood. This virus challengesthat traditional wisdom.This is not to be taken assome kind of a voyeuristicstatement but as asociologically relevant one.Human life is human lifeirrespective of who itbelongs to, rich or poor.

There is an organicconnection between naturalphenomena and socio-cultural, political andeconomic processes in thesociety. The Covid-19reaffirms that.

(D. V. Kumar isProfessor, Dept ofSociology, NEHU,Shillong)

Meghalaya undertakessmart-locking

ON Thursday evening the Meghalaya Governmentannounced a 24 hour lock-in from midnight ofSaturday March 20 to March 21. This means thatMeghalaya will awake into the Janta Curfewannounced by Prime Minister, Modi on Sunday. Thiswould make it a two day lock-in or 48 hours ofself-imposed curfew. This is the only way to slowdown the transmission and spread of the highlycontagious CoronaVirus. Research has shown thatin urban areas and regions where the disease seemsto be spreading, taking measures like working fromhome, shutting down schools, and canceling largeevents can significantly reduce the rate of newinfections. The Government of Meghalaya is nowurging everyone to practice social distancing, toavoid eating out in restaurants and bars and tosuspend unnecessary shopping trips.

Meanwhile the World Health Organization(WHO) is advising everyone to wash fruits,vegetables, and their hands before cooking and touse a separate cutting board when preparing rawmeat, and cook it to the proper temperature beforeeating. Covid19- is a pandemic that shakes our faithin all that we had taken for granted. Globally,pandemics have transformed the manner in whichstates have responded to the CoronaVirus. India’sinitial response was mature and sober. However,health experts believe that the real test is yet to come.India will need to massively gear up testing,monitoring and become more stringent on socialdistancing. Testing equipments and protective gearfor frontline health workers are imperative. They aredoing an extraordinary job. But we need to bear inmind that our health system is not geared to meetwith a more serious onslaught.

Meghalaya’s proposed 48 hour shutdown willhelp in a big way to prevent crowding because thisis how the disease spreads. It’s important to buildsolidarity and to respect the lock-in for the largerpublic good. As of now health specialists say thatthe cases and clusters in India are simple spreaderswhich mean an infected person with normalinfectivity. But COVID 19 can also have a “superspreader”, which means an infected person with highinfectivity who can infect hundreds in no time. Indiasaw a mini spurt of cases on March 4, and thenagain between March 10 and 13, when casesjumped from 23 to 35, yet no super spreader waspresent. Now India has almost crossed a hundredcases and has to be vigilant. As India enters Stage2, there will be a jump in the number of cases whichwill put us at risk of rapidly transitioning from Stage2 to 3 like Italy. This must be halted urgently. TheICMR has rightly advised the government to go intopartial shutdown along the lines of Singapore andThailand as soon as possible.

Teeth are an essentialpart of our body andthey determine our

overall health to a great ex-tent. Well-known dentist,endodontist, cosmetic den-tist and implantologist, DrAjay Bajaj, BDS, MDS -Conservative Dentistry &Endodontics, in Juhu, Mum-bai talks about oral health.

There are many factorswhich affect the oral healthand the most important oneis the brushing technique.India's contribution in rais-ing health standards is re-markable and noteworthy.But when the dental andoral health, there is a lack ofawareness.

As majority of the Indianpopulation resides in ruralareas, basic oral health edu-cation is the most neglect-ed chapter.

Lack of proper guidanceand professional help arealso contributory factors inthe undermining of oralhealth. One of the prime mis-conceptions is in the brush-ing technique, which is reg-ular aggressive use of a hor-izontal brushing motion andthe usage of a hard brush.

In India we call brushing"Daant Ghisna"' though es-sentially brushing shouldnot be "Rubbing teeth vig-orously". Excessive rub-bing causes erosion of

enamel, which leads to sen-sitivity.

As per a survey conduct-ed in 2017 one out of everythree Indian suffers fromsensitivity. Enamel is thethin outer covering of thetooth.

The enamel is a shieldthat protects the tooth fromdamage preventing decay.Once tooth enamel is dam-aged, itc a n n o tb eb rough tb a c k .However,w e a k -ened enam-el can be re-stored to some de-gree by improv- ingits mineral con-tent. Certaint o o t h p a s t e s a n dmouthwashes c a ncontribute to this rem-ineralization process.

How do you know if youare brushing too hard:

Tooth Sensitivity: Sensi-tivity is when Hot, cold,sweet or very acidic foodsand drinks makes teeth or atooth painful or sensitive.Hard brushing causes ero-sion of enamel, which leadsto sensitivity

In less than 3 monthsyour toothbrush havesplayed bristles (or bristles

that fan out)Receding and Bleeding

Gums: If you brush toohard you can damage thegum tissue and make it be-gin to recede which expos-es more of your tooth.Bleeding gums can also bea sign of ag-g r e s - s ive

brush-

ing.Three

g e n e r a - t i o n sago we did n o th a v e tooth-brushes in I n d i aand even today'sg e n e r a t i o n learnedbrushing by o b s e r -vation from f a m i l y.What we need is tolearn the proper techniquesof brushing from profes-sionals.

Here are some measureswe can implement in our dai-ly life to avoid Hard brush-ing:

Brush twice daily for amaximum of two to threeminutes: Brushing morethan two times a day andmore than two to three min-utes each time is inadvisa-

ble as it causes enamel ero-sion.

Wait half an hour aftermeals before brushing: Af-ter meal your teeth's outerlayers or enamel are tempo-rarily softened. Brushingthe teeth immediately afterrubs

ac-i d sfrom the foodinto the enam- e l ,breaking themdown and in-tensifying thesensitivity.

Waiting half a nhour beforebrushing lets your salivanaturally neutralize the ac-ids.

Use Bass technique forbrushing: Hold your tooth-brush at a 45-degree angle,brush gently in a circularmotion, and hold the tooth-brush in your fingertips, notin the palm of your hand.

First, the outer surface ofthe teeth is cleaned fol-lowed by the inner surfacepresent around the tongue.

Lastly, brush the chewingsurface of the teeth to endup with the brushing ses-sion.

Brush gently: Vigorous-ly brushing or rubbing toohard isn't necessary to re-move plaque, Thorough-

ness is the key.Plaque is verysoft and stickyfilm containingmillions of bac-

teria and itbuilds on yourteeth.

If you havetooth sensitivity,opt for a softbristle tooth-brush and specialant i -sensi t ivi tytoothpaste that are

d e - signed for sensi-tive teeth.

Change your toothbrushevery three months: Con-sult an experienced dentistregularly to find out the besttoothbrush as per your den-tal health.

Replace toothbrushesevery 3 to 4 months, evensooner if the bristles aresplayed or you had beensick.

Children tend to brushmore rigorously than adults,

India’s tooth brushing habit

Oral hygiene has beenregarded as the mirror to ones general

health, as research hasshown a link between thehealth of a persons set ofprecious set of "whilepearls" and overall health.

Here are some oral anddental health tips by DrHimanshu Dadlani, Consult-ant, Dental Care, Max Hos-pital, Gurugram, for workingpeople who are always run-ning short of time:

1. Brush regularly but notaggressively. Brushingteeth twice a day is a wellknown oral hygiene routinebut that's effective only ifdone using use the correcttechnique.

Brush upper jaw teethusing down strokes andlower jaw using up strokes.Take care to brush the front,

How to maintain perfect dental healthback and top of every tooth.Strictly avoid using back-and-forth motions.

Use a soft toothbrushand change your tooth-brush every 3 months.

2. Floss at least once aday. Purpose of floss is notto remove the stuck food in-between the teeth but to re-move the transparentplaque.

It is extremely effective inreducing bad breath bycleaning the areas where atoothbrush is unable toreach.

3. Quit smoking. Smokingputs your mouth at risk forgum disease and oral can-cer. Smoking leads to yel-lowing of the teeth and alsocauses bad breath. Reachout to your dentist for quit-ting programs.

4. Check your diet. Avoid

sugary and sticky food. Fi-brous food has naturalcleaning action on yourteeth.

Feel like having carbon-ated drinks? Do yourselfgood and drink plenty ofwater instead.

5. Never ignore bleedingfrom gums

Bleeding from gums isthe initial sign of gum dis-ease. See a dentist for a sim-ple solution.

6. Ignore the myth thatcleaning the teeth is goingto weaken them.

Regular professionalcleaning of your teeth hasno side effects at all rather itis simple and painless.

7. See a dentist regularly.No matter what age you are,seeing a dentist every sixmonths is always a goodidea. (IANS)

they may need their tooth-brushes replaced more of-ten.

Visit a dentist regularlyfor routine checkups: Reg-ular checkups also help un-derstand the required meas-ures that must be implement-ed in the daily oral hygiene

routine preventing any dam-age. As they say "Preven-tion is better than cure".

If one starts followingthe above measures, sensi-tivity can be preventedfrom worsening to a largeextent.

The key to good healthis invariably strengthenedpearly whites, because oralconditions if untreated canravage and weaken the

body.These simple measures

if taken can prolong the lifeof the teeth, gums and thusthe overall well being of aperson.

Let's prioritize & brushup our dental care. Be trueto your teeth and they won'tbe false to you. "We don'twant our teeth to be asscarce as hen's teeth".(IANS)

From Our Correspondent

TURA: Members of themost vocal social organisa-tion in the plains belt regionof Garo Hills- Anti-Corrup-tion and Human Develop-ment Organization- who re-signed en masse from theirChibinang unit to protestagainst the activities oftheir secretary, havethrown their weight behindtheir president IshrafulHoque demanding a probeinto alleged financial irreg-ularities conducted by theformer.

In a complaint to the dep-uty commissioner of WestGaro Hills, Hoque, who isbacked by the members ofthe organisation, demand-ed a probe to bring out thetrue picture of the allega-tions.

The secretary of theNGO, who was at logger-

GH group demands probeheads with the president,had claimed that Hoque ex-torted an amount of Rs 1lakh from the manager of acontractor from Ban-galkhata under Chibinangin West Garo Hills.

He also accused thepresident of collectingmoney from boulder truckspassing through the routeand forging the signatureof the secretary for open-ing a bank account at Chib-inang SBI branch.

The president wrote tothe deputy commissionerseeking a probe to get to thetruth of the matter.

“If I had indeed extortedmoney why hasn’t the firmfiled a police complaint onthe matter? Even the accu-sation that I committed for-gery and opened a bankaccount in the name of theorganisation at ChibinangSBI branch has been ex-

posed because there is nobank account of ACHDOeither at Chibinang or anySBI branch for that matter,”revealed Hoque.

He also alleged that a po-litical conspiracy has beenhatched against him.

By Sandra Albert andGlenn C Kharkongor

Screening is differentfrom diagnostic testing. In screening, for

example, incoming passen-gers from foreign countriesare checked for fever andcough. This is the first levelevaluation of at-risk personsand may also be conductedat road, shipping and traintransit points.

There is currently nocommunity transmission ofCovid-19 in India. Thismeans that all known casesin the country so far arethose who have contractedthe virus abroad, or thosein India who are close con-tacts of the foreign travel-lers. In other words, the In-dian scenario remains atStage 2 (see yesterday’sbulletin).

Community transmissionis Stage 3 which is: Thesource of the infection can-not be located because sev-eral areas now have beenaffected.

A person tests positivedespite no known exposureto an infected person norany history of travelling to

Parental diet is a crucialfactor in the futuremetabolic health of

the offspring, say research-ers, adding that when par-ents eat low-protein or high-fat diets it can lead to meta-bolic disorders in their adultoffspring.

According to the study,published in the journalMolecular Cell, researchersat the RIKEN Cluster for Pi-oneering Research (CPR) inJapan, identified a key play-er and the molecular eventsunderlying this phenome-non in mice. Experimentalevidence indicates that en-vironmental factors that af-fect parents do play a rolein reprogramming the healthof their offspring through-out their lifespan. In partic-ular, parental low-proteindiets are known to be relat-ed to metabolic disorders intheir children, such as dia-betes, the study said.

This phenomenon isthought to be regulated

Diet affects sperm andhealth of offspring

through epigenetics--herit-able changes in which genesare turned on and off with-out actually changing anindividual's DNA.

However, until now, thedetails of this process wereunknown. In their study, ateam at RIKEN CPR tackledthis question in a mousemodel and discovered that aprotein called ATF7 is essen-tial for the intergenerationaleffect. ATF7 is a transcrip-tion factor, meaning that itregulates when genes areturned on and off. The re-searchers fed male and fe-male mice on normal diets orlow protein diets and thenallowed them to mate. Theycompared gene expression--which genes were turnedon--in adult offspring of malemice who had been on thetwo different diets andfound that expression dif-fered for hundreds of genesin the liver, many of whichare involved in cholesterolmetabolism. (IANS)

Testing for Covid -19 during Stage 3an infected area. Italy, Iranand Spain are in this cat-egory now. India has notbeen declared as being inStage 3 yet.

This means that all indi-viduals need not be tested.So who needs testing?:

* Direct close physicalcontact of lab confirmedpositive cases

*History of travel to highrisk Covid affected countries

The above individualsalso need to be home quar-antined for 14 days, unlessthey have severe symptomsneeding hospital care. InKerala the criteria for test-ing is very specific. Thosewith mild symptoms such aslow grade fever, mild sorethroat, cough, runny noseor diarrhea are not tested. Sothe number of people testedis small and can be managedby the labs in the state.Some have criticized thisapproach, citing the factthat even mildly sympto-matic people can be posi-tive. But Kerala overcomesthis objection because of

the stringent containmentthrough strict follow-up andisolation.

The Indian Council ofMedical Research is thelead agency for testing.Apart form its own networkof 72 labs, it has already au-thorized 65 private labs toconduct tests. Some medi-cal colleges and researchinstitutions also have thecapacity to conduct Covidtesting.

In Meghalaya, apart fromNEIGRIHMS, which is theonly testing lab in the statenow, the Indian Council ofAgricultural Research, theIndian Institute of PublicHealth and NEHU have theequipment to performpolymerase chain reaction(PCR), which is a geneticsbased tool for the detectionof germs. These labs couldbe upgraded and their per-sonnel trained to serve asCovid testing labs if re-quired.

In some Western coun-tries, self-testing is availablethrough mail order kits from

private labs.A popular kit costs $135

and the results are seen in15 minutes at home. Severalpersons who had been re-fused testing in a hospitalbecause they did not meetthe criteria, found them-selves to be positive andwent back to the hospital fortreatment.

Two examples of suc-cessful mass screening andtesting are cited. In SouthKorea, lakhs were screenedin a matter of days at drivethrough centres, apart fromscreening all people arrivingat airports, Koreans in-cluded. In Vo, a town in Italy,all 3000 inhabitants weretested, including thosewithout symptoms. In all 89tested positive, of whom70% did not have symp-toms. They can pass on thevirus.

Detecting the virus inapparently health peoplewould be useful for contain-ing spread.

These measures, whileexemplary would be difficult

to duplicate in large cities orcountries, because of thesheer logistics, manpower,and cost. In many places, itis too late. In New York,which is in Stage 3 (commu-nity transmission), toomany people may have al-ready been infected and thestrategy is to treat thosewho need it.

Herd immunitySo what happens to

those who are not sympto-matic and have not beentested? They continue toremain in the community.may pass on the virus toothers, some of whom maynot get sick but now areadded to the pool of carri-ers. Eventually, a high per-centage, even a majority ofthe community is positiveand sick and severe casesmay surface here and there.This sets up the scenario forStage 4: epidemic or pan-demic. Once herd immunityis established the number ofcases gradually decreases,either in Stage 3 or 4 and thepandemic subsides.

Herd immunity occurswhen a large percentage ofa population have becomeimmune to an infection ei-ther through vaccination orthrough a previous infec-tion. This is what we try toachieve when we attempt tovaccinate over 90% of chil-dren against vaccine pre-ventable infections like mea-sles. Once there is sufficientherd immunity within thecommunity, this could pro-tect the minority who havemissed out on vaccination.In large, congested habita-tions like Indian towns, herdimmunity may happen muchmore quickly than in othercountries.

While it helps indownscaling of the disease,we often do not rely on thechance of herd immunitydeveloping because in theintervening period manylives may be lost. TheKerala model is perhapsideal for developing andpopulous countries becauseit largely substitutes expen-sive high-tech dependence,with public health systemsthat rely on trained humanresources and citizen coop-eration and compliance.

Meghalaya Crime UpdateTheft

Nanglamin Rynjah lodged a complaint that betweenMarch 12 night and March 13 morning, miscreants dam-aged a vault with an intention to commit theft at Pohkseh.

Widnal Marak lodged a complaint that in the weehours of Wednesday, miscreants broke into St. Sebas-tian Church, Danakgre, Tura and stole the donation box.

Abonath Koch of Halchati village under Dalu PS inWest Garo Hills lodged a complaint that on Tuesdaymorning, miscreants stole two numbers of cattle belong-ing to his mother-in-law. Later, in the evening, local resi-dents caught one suspected Bangladeshi national iden-tified as Bishedur Hajong of Nokchi under Janaigati PS,Sherpur District, Bangladesh.

Sengrak K Marak lodged a complaint that on Fridaylast, around 2 pm, miscreants stole his motorcycle (ML-08D-9942) from near Pelga Falls in West Garo Hills.

Illegal fishingGiles D Shira, Fishery Officer, South Garo Hills, lodged acomplaint that miscreants are illegally using explosivedevices for catching fish from community fish reservesat Entekwari Wari and Sreng Wari in South Garo Hills.

Shutdown begins amid...(Contd from P-1) Another buyer, Md. Sameer said, "Anything might happen. The shut-down might be extended. It is better for us to buy and stock up while we can."

In Tura, large crowds of consumers were seen trying to get their hands on anythingavailable - from rice to vegetables and even meat products.

Demand was so high that items such as cabbage and cauliflowers were soon out ofstock all over the market. The traders are also a worried lot because tonnes of freshvegetables have already been ordered for sale on Saturday at the weekly Najing Bazar inTura, which tragically happens to fall on a day the government has called for a completeshutdown in the region and state.

Sensing the high demand several traders upped their prices of essential commoditiesand basic items like onions and potatoes were going for almost double the normal pricein Tura.

"Potatoes that we normally buy for 15-20 rupees were going for 30-35 a kg. Evenonions that used to be sold for 30-35 rupees were sold for Rs 50 per kilo," rued someangry customers at the vegetable market in Tura bazaar.

Some buyers at Iewduh also claimed that prices have been hiked by shopkeepers butthe allegations were denied by the traders.

Amid the growing crisis, some buyers expressed hope that the situation will improvesoon.

"All I can say is that we should pray and hope that things will be okay," said Erase-bella Malngiang, a buyer, who was stocking up on essentials despite optimism in hervoice.

All tests negative...(Contd from P-1) He also appealed to the citizens to inform the government about travelhistory or symptoms of the disease through the helpline number 108, or by registering onthe online platform meghalayaonline.gov.in/covid or by calling the control room of theDCs in the respective district.

Talking about the shutdown of the state on Saturday, he said that the closure shouldnot be viewed as a lockdown, but the idea is to motivate people to leave everything fora day and focus on awareness about COVID-19 to understand and prevent the spread ofthe disease.

He said that the government was trying to track and break the chain of transmissionof the virus and would strengthen the health system by providing proper training tomedical officials. He said that community participation was an important aspect in thebattle against the virus.

Clarifying that there is no shortage of essential commodities in the state, he said thatEpidemic Disease Act and Consumer Act were in force and the government would takestrict against hoarders.

Responding to a query on sanitising the city and the state, he said that funds havebeen released under the State Disaster Response Force for procurement of equipmentfor disinfecting.

Cooperation callMeanwhile, in his message to the people of the state, the chief minister sought their

cooperation in the fight against coronavirus.Delivered over All India Radio and Doordarshan on Friday evening, he said although

no case of the disease has been detected there could be no complacency."Therefore, the next four weeks are crucial for our state to break the transmission

chain of the virus. I appeal to every citizen of the state to adhere to all the guidelines andadvisories issued by the state government. I kindly urge everyone to postpone all per-sonal, professional and social activities during this crucial time", he said.

He also urged people to maintain social distancing including self-quarantine, andmaintain personal hygiene like hand wash protocol.

"We also urge the headmen to take proactive steps to identify and inform of the same.The medical volunteers and district surveillance team members will reach out to thoseidentified households through phone or make visits if necessary to provide necessaryguidance and care to those families for next 14 days", he said.

State govt warns against...(Contd from P-1) such people as per Section 7 of the Es-sential Commodities Act, 1955 and Section 3 of the Pre-vention of Black marketing and Maintenance of Suppliesof Essential Commodities Act, 1980.

He also asserted that there is no need for panic or con-cern as there is sufficient stock of essential commoditiesin the state and the situation is being constantly moni-tored. He further urged all citizens to report incidents ofmalpractices to the deputy commissioners and officials.

Meanwhile, the deputy commissioner of South WestKhasi Hills and East Jaintia Hills districts have issued awarning to all shopkeepers in the district not to sell theessential commodities beyond the MRP.

Urging traders not to take advantage of the situation,the officials warned of strict action against offenders.

Achievement

JH body inductsnew members

By Our Reporter

KHLIEHRIAT: The Megha-laya People’s United Front-East Jaintia Hills District hasinformed that the organisa-tion has inducted SynjoyBareh as the vice president,Mihun Nongtdu as sportssecretary and Du-O hi Barehwas appointed as the in-charge of MPUF-Elaka Non-gkhlieh circle in East JaintiaHills.

The new members weresworn in at a function at theoffice of the organisation inthe presence of presidentCentral Governing Body DWanmi Laloo, a release is-sued by East Jaintia Hillspresident Michal Chyrmangsaid.

D e e h u n k i m i nKhonglah, daughter of Pe-ter Lamin and ReginaKhonglah, hailing fromBakur Dawki, resident ofMawlai Iewrynghep, hasbeen awarded PhD byNEHU for her thesis on“Antagonistic effects ofrhizospheric fungal iso-lates against phytopatho-gens of Solanumlycoper-sicum L”, under the super-vision of Prof. HighlandKayang, Department ofBotany, NEHU, Shillong.

4th teachers againstpay disparity

By Our Reporter

SHILLONG: The 4th teachers of Garo Hills unit is un-happy over disparity in salary and the reply of Chief Min-ister Conrad Sangma on the second day of budget ses-sion .

Rajabala MLA Azad Zaman had asked the question re-garding ‘equal work for equal pay’ for the SSA UP school4th teachers.

The teachers pointed out that there is constitutionalprovision regarding equal protection and they wanted toknow why under state plan, the 4th teachers are not get-ting equal salary like other three assistant teachers in SSAUP school.

They also said that in Assam there is no 4th teacher asall are assistant teachers who are serving in SSA schools.

The teachers’ association had submitted several peti-tions to ministers many times but there was no response.

Cong MLA write to CM...(Contd from P-1) to Saturday midnight, there has been apanic among the citizens of the state, thereby resulting inchaos and buying of essential commodities particularly inShillong. "Further, we are concerned of the similar situa-tions in other districts of the state. There is also an appre-hension that essential food commodities may run out ofstock in the near future if the situation escalates and con-tinues for a longer time", they said.

Medical suppliesThe MLAs also expressed concern over medical pre-

paredness of the health care institutions with medical sup-plies. "Every district hospitals are required to be equippedwith the essential testing kits to facilitate immediate treat-ment to any suspected patients, it is understood that thesemedical facilities have not been made available to the hos-pitals as yet", the MLAs pointed out.

The Shillong Times (21 March 2020), p. 6

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