chennai l thursday l may 09, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION new ICMR guidelines amid rise in diseases caused by unhealthy diet Eat a varied diet, cut salt and sugar intake, and stay physically active are among top guidelines to curb the rise of non-communicable diseases fill your plate with items from 8 food groups Diet responsible for rising disease burden The Indian Council of Medical Research said people must source micro and macronutrients from a minimum of eight of the 10 food groups it listed. Vegetables, fruits, roots and tubers should form half of the plate. Cereals and nutri-cereals (millets) should make up most of the other half. Pulses, eggs and meat, milk, nuts and oil seeds can be included as per one’s dietary preferences ■ ■ As per the guidelines, one must eat 400 grams of vegetables, 100 grams of fruits and 250 grams of cereals and nutri-cereals daily The ICMR report said 56.4% of non-communicable disease burden in India is due to unhealthy eating habits, including consumption of highly-processed food items laden with sugar and salt | P9 50% of daily cereal intake should comprise whole grains CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Top 10 districts in dip in water table Apr-23 District 5.78 6.15 6.15 4.15 5.39 5.62 2.99 5.17 3.64 6.08 Apr-24(Change) Dharmapuri Namakkal Perambalur Tirupattur Tiruchy Salem Krishnagiri Vellore Sivagangai Tiruppur 8.98 (3.2) 9.34 (3.19) 9.19 (3.04) 7.1 (2.95) 7.91 (2.52) 7.83 (2.21) 4.63 (1.64) 6.79 (1.62) 5.2 (1.56) 7.63 (1.55) Depth in metres from ground level The groundwater levels in 26 districts of Tamil Nadu have witnessed a significant drop compared to April last year, exacerbating the water shortage across the state. Eleven districts, however, have seen a slight improvement in the water table. According to the Water Resources Department’s (WRD) groundwater data for the month of April accessed by TNIE, some of the western districts have witnessed the steepest decline in water level. For instance, the average depth at which groundwater is available in Dharmapuri plummeted from 5.78 metres last April to 8.98 metres this year. Similarly in Namakkal, , the level dropped from 6.15 metres to 9.34 metres. Salem, Krishnagiri and Tiruppur are some of the other western districts that saw a significant drop. Coimbatore was among Pitroda quits party post after his foot-in-the-mouth racial analogy P r e e t ha N air @ New Delhi Groundwater level dips in 26 districts, west TN worst hit S GURUVANMIKANATHAN @ Chennai Modi pillories Congress, says people will not tolerate the insult on the basis of skin colour the worst hit, with water level dropping from 9.4 metres to 10.85 metres compared to last year. On an average, Chennai region has witnessed a 0.5 metre dip in groundwater level. Other districts that saw significant decline include Pera m b a l u r, T i r u c hy, a n d Tirupattur (see table). In contrast, groundwater level has gone up in the southern districts of Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi, and Virudhunagar due to the heavy rain during northeast monsoon which led to flooding in many areas in these districts. K Balasubramani, general secretary Tamil Nadu , Vivasayigal Munnetra Kazhagam, expressed concern over the poor efforts by the state in promoting rainwater harvesting. “The impact of dwindling water level is acutely felt by farmers particularly in the western regions where groundnut, coconut and other cash crops are traditionally grown,” he said. P7 AstraZeneca pulls Covid jab Kavita Bajeli-Datti @ New Delhi Days after admitting that its Covishield vaccine can cause blood clots in rare cases, British pharma giant AstraZeneca on Wednesday said it is withdrawing the jab globally citing a fall in demand. “As multiple, variant Covid-19 vaccines have since been developed, there is a surplus of available updated vaccines. This has led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied,” it said. AstraZeneca partnered with Oxford University to develop AZD1222, which was sold as Covishield in India and Vaxzevria in Europe. A spokesperson of Pune-based Serum Institute, which made Covishield, said with India achieving high vaccination rates, and emergence of new mutant variant strains, the demand for previous vaccines diminished significantly. “Since December 2021, we have stopped the manufacturing and supply of additional doses of Covishield,” the official said. K Srinath Reddy honorary distinguished professor at the Pub, lic Health Foundation of India, said Covid vaccines have to be judged by their ability to protect against the virus. “The original AstraZeneca vaccine no longer meets those criteria,” he said. Congress loose cannon and chairman of the party’s overseas unit Sam Pitroda stepped down from the post on Wednesday hours after his racial comments in a podcast on how people in the country’s East look like the Chinese and those of the South look like Africans, drew national outrage. Announcing the resignation, C o n g re s s l e a d e r Ja i r a m Ramesh said, “Sam Pitroda has decided to step down as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress of his own accord. The Congress President has accepted his decision.” In an interview with a newspaper, Pitroda described India as a diverse country “We have . survived 75 years in a very happy environment where people could live together, leaving aside a few fights here and Rahul’s close aide Pitroda was an advisor to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and has been closely associated with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accompanying him during his foreign visits there. We could hold a country together as diverse as India, where people on the East look like Chinese, people on the West look like Arab, people on the North look like White and maybe people on the South look like Africa,” he said. The Congress distanced itself from Pitroda’s remarks, calling it most unfortunate and unacceptable. “The analogies drawn by Sam Pitroda in a podcast to illustrate India’s diversity are most unfortunate and unacceptable. The Indian National Congress completely Showers Temper Heat in TN, Rain likely till may 11 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai After an intense spell of heatwave, the maximum temperature in many parts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, has dropped below normal. The regional meteorological centre (RMC) on Wednesday said heavy rainfall, due to cyclonic circulation, in interior districts and hilly areas of Nilgiris and Coimbatore will continue till May 11. Thunderstorm, lightning and winds with speed up to 30-40 kmph likely over TN, the RMC said. Except Karur, Erode and Madurai, the temperature has dropped significantly across TN due to the rainfall. Karur recorded the highest temperature of 41.2°Celsius, which was 4.9°C above normal. But Dharmapuri, which was inching closer to 43°C till last week, recorded 35°C --- about 1.5°C below normal. Chennai’s Meenambakkam weather station, which was breaching 40°C mark, has clocked below-normal temperature of 37.1°C. P Senthamarai Kannan, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, said maximum temperature may fall by up to 2°C in next five days over TN, Puducherry and Karaikal region. P7 Sudden showers gave Madurai respite from the summer heat on Wednesday | K K Sundar Caste factor in Nityanand Rai hat-trick bid R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai could not have asked for more when his senior colleague Union Home Minister Amit Shah called him his jigri (favourite) and promised to make him a bada aadmi (big man) after the Lok Sabha polls. Shah’s remarks came at an election rally in Bihar’s Ujiarpur, from where Rai is trying to hit a hat-trick. Shah’s words carry weight, but Rai needs to surmount anti-incumbency and get the caste equation right. His opponent is ex-state minister and RJD leader Alok Kumar Mehta, who is seeking to avenge his 2014 defeat at the hands of Rai. The fight is keenly watched for the contrasting electoral strategies. While the BJP is focusing on national issues, the RJD is raising unresolved local problems. Rai hopes Shah’s blessings and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image can help him, but Mehta is relentlessly raking up the issues of unemployment and inflation in essential goods, asking voters not to give the BJP candidate a third term. Unemployment has an immediate resonance with voters. “There is no industry people have to migrate to ... other places in search of livelihood,” Nityanand Rai (BJP) vs Alok Kumar Mehta (RJD) Illustration: Mandar Pardikar rued Abhimanyu Kumar Singh, a resident of Mohiuddin Nagar. Girindra Mohan Mishra, a resident of Bibhutipur, said: “Ujiarpur has no major industry Many jute and . sugar mills were closed years ago.” The voting in Ujiarpur will take place on three factors — caste, local issues, and Modi’s guarantee. But caste remains the swing factor in this north Bihar constituency which has , supported NDA candidates since its creation in 2008 after delimitation. “Voters will vote for development, but caste factor can’t be ruled out,” said Rajan Kumar from Bibhutipur. Pappu Tiwari of Vidyapatinagar said: “People mainly vote on caste basis, followed by local issues.” Rai, a Yadav, won in 2014 and 2019. In 2019, Rai defeated Rashtriya Lok Samta Party chief Upendra Kushwaha, who was then part of the grand alliance. He is now with the NDA. Yadavs and Kushawahas are strong enough to swing results in this constituency . dissociates itself from these analogies,” said Ramesh. With campaigning in full swing ahead of the fourth phase of polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP’s attack on the Congress citing Pitroda’s analogy and asserted that people will not tolerate the attempt to insult them on the basis of their skin colour. At an election rally in Rajampet in Andhra Pradesh, Modi asked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin if he would break the DMK’s alliance with its ally Congress `1K school aid For govt boys from July over the insulting remarks by Pitroda. “A senior leader has exposed the divisive mindset of the Congress. The leader is close to the Gandhi family and is the mentor of the shehzada. His comments are shameful,” said Modi. He also linked the Congress’s opposition to Droupadi Murmu’s presidential bid to its mindset, which saw her as “African” because of her dark skin. In the past, too, Pitroda’s controversial comments had put Congress in tough situations. The party had squirmed after Pitroda endorsed the US model of inheritance tax law for India. Though the Congress dismissed it as his personal opinion, the issue became one of the main narratives for the BJP as it accused the grand old , party of eyeing every citizen’s assets as part of its “redistribution of wealth’’ policy . ‘Tamil Pudhalvan’ scheme, under which `1,000 per month will be provided to male students of government schools to pursue higher education, will be implemented from this July, Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena said | P5 90 AI Express flights cancelled, flyers stranded at airports AISHWARYA PRABHAKARAN @ Kochi Thousands of passengers were left stranded at airports across the country on Wednesday after Tata Group-run Air India Express cancelled over 90 flights after 300 senior crew members went on mass sick leave to protest the new employment terms at the airline. There was chaos in many airports in Kerala besides Delhi and Bengaluru as passengers came to know of cancellations only after they reached the boarding gates. In a late-night development, the airline fired some crew members, citing violation of contract terms. The flight disruption is likely to continue. K K Vijaykumar of Air India Express Employees’ Union said discontent among staff had been brewing after the Tata Group took over the airline in January 2022. “The new management reduced the contract period of several cabin crew from five years to one year and reduced salaries by 25-30%,” he told this paper. Air India Express is the lowcost subsidiary of Air India and operates budget services mostly to the Gulf countries.
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.