For an outpost town with little hope, it's nothing short of a miracle. Just some 20 km away from the Nepal border, Narkatiaganj village is one of Bihar's dens of extortion and kidnapping. But a bit more reassuring picture emerges when you visit its primary health centre (PHC), buzzing with activity as seven doctors attend to nearly 300 patients a day.

Malaria caused by the deadly plasmodium falciparum parasite is becoming common in India. Even though the number of malaria cases have declined from 30 lakh in 1996 to 16 lakh in 2006, infections caused by plasmodium falciparum have increased from 38% to nearly 50%.

The president of the district of Telugu Desam, Mr Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy, said that the Congress was determined for large-scale destruction of entire Agency areas. The TD's padayatra team, which launched the marathon on Tuesday in Anantagiri Agency mandal reached Araku here on Thursday.

Computer aided units drive Chirala farmers out of business Utter penury greets you in every house that has a loom. Twenty-three-year-old Sivasarada and his family, including his parents and ageing grandmother, put in an average of 10 hours of work a day to prepare 12 pieces of 8 m-long Pattamarapu for a Tamil Nadu-based export company. Still they earn just Rs 4,000 a month. In Jandrapeta village, weaver couple Sulochana and Rama Rao get Rs 2,400 for 36m of kurta tops. School dropout rates among the children in the community are high because of poverty and the need for additional labour.

Computer aided units drive Chirala farmers out of business The loom in Aruna Kumari's badly lit, mud-walled house in Epurupalem village runs from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., with either Aruna or her husband working at it constantly. Her ageing grandmother contributes by winding spools of yarn and joining threads of the weft for 10 hours daily. Together, the family produces 13 Chirala sarees with ornate, heavy-work pallu and border in a month, for a combined income of a little over Rs 4,000.

The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, set the foundation stone for scattered houses scheme at the Praja Patham programme held during his visit to the district here on Wednesday. Addressing a huge gathering on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the Congress government unlike the earlier TD government was committed for all-round development of the city.

A massive awareness programme, "Operation Clean Ananta' has been launched by the mayor, Mr R. Parasuram, and the municipal commissioner, Mr B. Naga-bhushanam, on Wednesday. A rally was organised to create awareness among people from Sainagar to the district collectorate.

Adulteration of fuel at petrol bunks in the city is on the rise. At least 1,075 cases have been registered this year against various oil companies as against 931 cases last year. According to legal metrology department, at least 299 cases have been booked against HPCL, 531 against IOC, 188 against BPCL and 17 against Reliance in 2007-08. Receipts with oil companies showed a fall in total revenues from sales of diesel and petrol despite the increase in sale of vehicles, the officials said. They attributed the discrepancy to adulteration of fuel at petrol bunks.