The COVID-19 lockdown has been reported as a “ventilator” for the reinstatement of natural resources across the globe. Hence, the present study attempts to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the water quality of River Gomti across its stretch of ~960 km through the assessment of ‘Water Quality Index’ (WQI). The study also highlights the potential risk of faecal-oral transmission of COVID-19 through intake of river water facing the issue of direct discharge of domestic sewage. A deterioration in the water quality was witnessed at ~69% sampling locations during the lockdown period (May 2020). Interestingly, none of the water samples during the pre-lockdown, lockdown, and post-lockdown periods across the whole stretch belonged to the “excellent” category (WQI<25). The DO levels fell across ~69% and ~88% of the sites during the lockdown and post-lockdown periods, respectively. Moreover, there was an increase in the BOD
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levels across ~69% and 75% of the sites during lockdown and post-lockdown periods, respectively. These findings indicate that the release of sewage without or with partial treatment is a chief contributor of water pollution in the groundwater fed River Gomti. Thereby, highlighting the possible risk of faecal-oral transmission of the corona virus, and creating a major concern for the residents across its stretch. The urban sprawl and riverfront development in Lucknow city also emerge as potential causes of water quality deterioration in River Gomti, considering that the water quality at five sites within the city was under the “unfit” category regardless of the lockdown situation. Thus, the urgent need of management of domestic sewage release into the river and further research on the potential risk of faecal-oral transmission of COVID-19 have been suggested in the study.
This paper briefly reports some ecological observations on such floating islands at Jaipur (India) .The paper reports the occurrence of floating islands in an impoundment infested with water hyacinth. Data on chemical composition of the islands, the surrounding water and the bottom soil of the impoundment are given, to show that the floating islands are rich reserves of nutrients and differ considerably from their surroundings . Some comments have also been made on their development and their importance in water resource management.
The present communication deals with the impact of rapid urbanization of Lucknow City on Gomati River. The lower values of water quality index (WQI < 50) at upstream of the city confirm the presence of good quality water. When it leaves the city downstream the value of WQI raises to >75, indicating that the water quality has deteriorated considerably and has become unfit for human consumption. The groundwater is also polluted due to urbanization and requires immediate attention for improving the water quality of Gomati river.
BackgroundAgeing is an inevitable process which begins before birth and continues throughout the life. Though depression is the commonest psychiatric disorder in the elderly, it is commonly misdiagnosed and under treated. The objective of the current study is to know the socio-demographic correlates of depressive disorders amongst elderly.
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Materials and MethodsA cross-sectional community based study was designed and conducted in an urban slum of Muzaffarnagar city, of North India, comprising of 403 elderly aged 60 years and above for a period of 6 months. First of all, the listing of elderly in the study area was done then study was started with the randomly selected name entered in list as the first one and thereafter every second elderly was interviewed alternatively with the help of predesigned proforma. The collected data was subjected to suitable statistical analysis.
ResultsAs the age advances the depressive disorders also increase. The prevalence of depressive disorders was found to be 9.4% and it has been observed to double with advancement of one decade of years in the age. It has been noted that there is statistically significant association between decadal age advancement and rise in number of cases of depression. No significant difference in the occurrence of depressive disorders among male and female elderly population has been found.
ConclusionA holistic approach to underlying causes of problems of elderly should be undertaken. There is need of strengthening the existing "package" of services for elderly in various initiatives and programmes.
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