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.

Commercial cultivation of the "green gold'

UPA's move may come three years late

Going, going, almost gone. But never quite. It's a pattern that's repeating itself with an ugly regularity. Just as Mumbai begins to hope that it is finally getting rid of the spectre of polio, a case pops up in some slum. And it is back to square one, with renewed mass immunisation drives, door-to-door rounds and mop up programmes.

For a species classified as critically endangered, Gavialis gangeticus, or the gharial, has had it good over the years at Patna zoo. From just 11 in 2002, there are now over 130 gharials in the zoo, officially called the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park. And the number is only set to grow.

Wet Runs: There are 32 ongoing water projects with private sector participation, as also 22 hydro power projects with private participation. Some 20 states are undertaking water sector reforms.
Farm Woe: Net irrigated area in India is 55 mn ha against a net crop area of 142 mn ha.

Fast Dwindling: Forest cover has gone down by 1,409 sq km between 2003 and 2005.

A multi-billion dollar global campaign against AIDS has suffered a serious setback in Bihar where this deadly disease wiped out an entire family. The incident, which has sent shock waves across the region, is a sad commentary on the much-trumpeted awareness campaign against AIDS in the state in which hundreds of NGOs are involved and allegedly making a fast rupee.

The model for kala azar eradication is a cross-sectoral public-private partnership, writes Kavita Khanna in the second of a two-part series

The model for kala azar eradication is a cross-sectoral public-private partnership, writes Kavita Khanna in the second of a two-part series Globally, kala azar is the second largest parasitic killer after malaria. In India, Bihar is the epicentre of kala azar, home to, as per the state Kala Azar Task Force, over 1,00,000 patients. Kala azar is eminently preventable and curable. The parasite that transmits the disease is the sandfly. An extensive and effective vector control programme can go a long way in preventing transmission of the disease.