Burdwan District Research Articles

Nursing personnel planning for rural hospitals in Burdwan District, West Bengal, India, using workload indicators of staffing needs.

Lack of appropriate human resources planning is an important factor in the inefficient use of the public health facilities. Workforce projections can be improved by using objective methods of staffing needs based on the workload and actual work undertaken by workers, a guideline developed by Peter J. Shipp in collaboration with WHO-Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN). A cross-sectional study was carried out to estimate the nursing stuff requirement for the rural hospitals and provide a quantitative description of imbalances, if there is any, in the allocation at the district level during 2011. The average WISN turns out to be 0.35 for entire district, which means only 35% of the required nurses is available or 65% understaffed. So, there is an urgent need for more allocations and deployment of staff so that workload can be tackled and evenly distributed among all nursing personnel.

Pesticide use pattern among farmers in a rural district of West Bengal, India.

Background:A vast majority of Indian population are engaged in agriculture. While pesticides help in increasing crop production, inappropriate pesticide storage practice and inadequate protective measures frequently causes accidental poisoning among farmers.Objective:The present study was conducted to explore the pattern of pesticide use among farmers in a district of India with an attempt to identify the lacunae in their knowledge and awareness level on risks and hazards of pesticides use.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional questionnaire based study was conducted in the district of Burdwan, West Bengal, to address the study objective. Data analysis was performed by using descriptive statistical methods: Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation.Results:In the present study alpha-cypermethrin (46%) was the most commonly used pesticide followed by methyl parathion (25.6%), imidacloprid (16.4%), dichlorvos (7.8%) and phorate (4.2%). The farmers used to store pesticides mostly in cowshed (48.4%) followed by storeroom (29.6%). During spraying of pesticides, farmers experienced headache (29.8%) followed by nausea (26%), burning sensation in eyes (9.8%), cough (9.2%), muscle cramps (2%). Regarding the personal protective measures taken by the farmers for spraying, covering nose, mouth with cloth combined with bath after spraying was the most common practice (27%). When asked about suggested actions to be taken if anybody becomes sick following exposure to pesticides, 86% of farmers prefer consulting a doctor.Conclusion:The study suggested that farmers of Burdwan were exposed to highly hazardous, restricted and banned pesticides, with insufficient protection. In this situation, educational and training interventions on pesticide handling and safety precautions are urgently needed.

A Study on Anxiety Level of Secondary School Teachers in using Cyber Materials

This research work attempts to study the Anxiety level of the secondary school teachers in using cyber materials. The descriptive survey method was employed for the present study. A random sampling technique was used for selection of sample. The sample consisted of 400 secondary school teachers of fourteen secondary schools of Hooghly and Burdwan district in the state of West Bengal. A Likert type scale for assessment of teacher's anxiety level in using cyber materials, was developed and standardised for the study. The data was organized and statistically analysed by using Mean, SD, ‘t’ test. In course of this analysis it was found that there was no significant difference in anxiety level among secondary school teachers in respect of their Gender and Academic qualification. But on the other hand there was a significant difference in anxiety level between Govt. & Private school teacher and Habitual & Occasional user of computer in using cyber materials.

An observation on the phytotherapeutic uses of plants by the tribal people of some forest areas in Birbhum and Burdwan districts, West Bengal, India

An observation on the phytotherapeutic uses of plants by the tribal people of some forest areas in Birbhum and Burdwan districts, West Bengal, India

Augmentation of Life Insurance Services with the Help of Information Technology Enabled Services

Globalization and emergence of information technology has changed the customers' socio-economic culture and human interactions are now significantly being replaced by the interactions of human-technology where information technology is playing the most important role in providing variety of services to the customers in order to satisfy them. Like any other companies, life insurance companies are also trying to gain the maximum utilization of the information technology in most efficient and effective way in the business operation especially at the time of delivery of different types of services to the customers in the competitive market where customers are fully aware of their needs and requirements, expectations, information technology, information technology enabled services. In the present context, the researcher in this paper tried to understand how life insurance services can be augmented with the help of information technology enabled services with special reference to the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LICI) in Burdwan district, West Bengal.

Impact of Reputation, Ownership Pattern, Quality of Service and Manpower on Overall Satisfaction of the Customers of Life Insurance Corporation of India

The overall satisfaction of customers depends upon a number of factors where over times these factors vary culture-wise, situation-wise, nation-wise, sector-wise as well as industry-wise. These factors are not only playing an important role in customers’ mind about the selection of a particular insurance company among all other existing life insurance companies in the present competitive insurance market but also influencing their overall satisfaction with their service providers. As nowadays customer satisfaction has become the ultimate goal to the different service providers, so considering own reputation and ownership, life insurance companies are dedicatedly involved in providing quality of services to their customers in order to satisfy them with the help of their knowledgeable and well-trained manpower. Observing the usage pattern of the life insurance customers, the researcher in this paper tried to examine whether reputation, ownership pattern, quality of services and quality of manpower have any impact on the overall satisfaction of the customers of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LICI) in Burdwan district or not.

Assessment of infant and young child feeding practice among tribal women in Bhatar block of Burdwan district in West Bengal, India

Background: The first two years of life involve rapid physical, cognitive and social development that requires optimal nutrition. Tribal populations are the most backward section of the society. In West Bengal, the Santal tribe contributes to 51.8% Scheduled Tribe population of the state. Aims & Objective: The present study was conducted to assess infant and young child feeding practice among Santal women in Bhatar block of Burdwan District, West Bengal in India. Materials and Methods: It was a descriptive study of cross-sectional design. Bhatar block was purposively selected and 10 villages inhabited by Santals were chosen purposively. Data were collected by interview method using a pre-designed pre-tested schedule from 120 mothers having children of 0-23 months of age. WHO indicators for assessing infant and child feeding practices were used. Results: Breast feeding was initiated within one hour of birth in 48.33% cases, 46.15% babies were exclusively breastfed and in 47.37 % cases breastfeeding was continued at 1 year of the baby. Solid, semisolid or soft foods were correctly introduced at 6-8 months in 46.67% infants. Only 30.85% mothers maintained minimum dietary diversity while 41.49% mothers maintained minimum meal frequency. Conclusion: The poor status of indicators of Infant and child feeding practice found in present study may be attributed to high rate of illiteracy and poor socio-economic condition among Santal women. Therefore intense total literacy campaign, income generating activities and health education by health personnel is the need of the day.

Gender Differentials in Tuberculosis: An Experience from a Rural Tuberculosis Unit of Burdwan District, West Bengal, India

AIM: In India, RNTCP reports more male tuberculosis patients than female. In this study we aimed to find out the gender differences in clinical presentation and treatment outcome. METHOD: A record based study was conducted in Bhatar tuberculosis unit of Burdwan district among 758 registered tuberculosis patients of November 2010 to December 2011. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. RESULT: Male was 76.1%, female was 23.9% with male preponderance in each age group. In category I, majority of the male and female patients were new sputum smear positive. In category II, majority of the male and female patients belonged to relapse (35.8%) and other group (69.2%) respectively. Cure rate and treatment completion rate was more among males and females respectively. In category I, female defaulters were more, while in category II, male defaulter was higher. CONCLUSION: Integrated research is necessary to find out these differences that will be helpful in improving the efficacy of the programme.

Coverage and Awareness of and Compliance with Mass Drug Administration for Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis in Burdwan District, West Bengal, India

India adopted WHO's strategy of repeated rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) with diethylcarbamazine to eliminate lymphatic filariasis. The present study attempted to assess the coverage and awareness of and compliance with MDA for elimination of lymphatic filariasis in Burdwan district of India, following MDA round in July 2010. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the four randomly-selected clusters in the district of Burdwan, West Bengal, India, covering 603 individuals from 154 households, using a predesigned pretested schedule. The drug distribution coverage, compliance, and effective coverage were 48.76%, 70.07%, and 34.16% respectively. Only 41.4% of the study population was aware of the MDA activity. This evaluation study noted that MDA is restricted to tablet distribution only. There is an urgent need to improve compliance with drug intake through strengthening of the awareness programme involving both government health workers and community volunteers.

ARSENIC CONTAMINATION IN GROUNDWATER: A STATISTICAL MODELING

High arsenic in natural groundwater in most of the tubewells of the Purbasthali- Block II area of Burdwan district (W.B, India) has recently been focused as a serious environmental concern. This paper is intending to illustrate the statistical modeling of the arsenic contaminated groundwater to identify the interrelation of that arsenic contain with other participating groundwater parameters so that the arsenic contamination level can easily be predicted by analyzing only such parameters. Multivariate data analysis was done with the collected groundwater samples from the 132 tubewells of this contaminated region shows that three variable parameters are significantly related with the arsenic. Based on these relationships, a multiple linear regression model has been developed that estimated the arsenic contamination by measuring such three predictor parameters of the groundwater variables in the contaminated aquifer. This model could also be a suggestive tool while designing the arsenic removal scheme for any affected groundwater.

ARSENIC CONTAMINATION IN GROUNDWATER: A STATISTICAL MODELING

High arsenic in natural groundwater in most of the tubewells of the Purbasthali- Block II area of Burdwan district (W.B, India) has recently been focused as a serious environmental concern. This paper is intending to illustrate the statistical modeling of the arsenic contaminated groundwater to identify the interrelation of that arsenic contain with other participating groundwater parameters so that the arsenic contamination level can easily be predicted by analyzing only such parameters. Multivariate data analysis was done with the collected groundwater samples from the 132 tubewells of this contaminated region shows that three variable parameters are significantly related with the arsenic. Based on these relationships, a multiple linear regression model has been developed that estimated the arsenic contamination by measuring such three predictor parameters of the groundwater variables in the contaminated aquifer. This model could also be a suggestive tool while designing the arsenic removal scheme for any affected groundwater.

P3.410 Link Worker Scheme-An Effective Rural Intervention to Reduce the Vulnerability of Contracting HIV Among Rural Sex Workers

BackgroundLink Worker Scheme, a rural intervention model aims to reach out to the High Risk Groups and vulnerable men and women in rural areas with information, knowledge, skills on STI/HIV...

Report of foliar necrosis of potato caused by Cochliobolus lunatus in India

During the winter season of 2011, Cochliobolus lunatus was isolated from necrotized leaves of potato in potato plantations of Burdwan District, West Bengal State, India. The isolate was identified using standard monographs and taxonomic keys and confirmed molecularly using the Ribosomal Deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA) sequence data. The Koch’s postulate was confirmed through pathogenicity test on potato cultivar ‘Kufri Jyoti’. This is the first report of C. lunatus causing brown-toblack spots disease of potato in India.

Investigation on arbuscular mycorrhizal alliances in some threatened medicinal herbs of Burdwan district, West Bengal, India

Perseverance of conventional herbal medicines is increasing gradually throughout the world. Considering the growing demand of ethnomedicinal plants in therapeutic treatments to our primary health care system and the role of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) fungi for enhanced production of active secondary metabolites by the medicinal plants, the present work was undertaken to survey the arbuscular mycorrhizal status in some common medicinal herbs like, Abrus precatorius, Elephantopus scaber, Sida rhombifoliaand Clerodendrum indicum. As evidenced from Grid-line intersect method, all the plants under investigation were colonized by the vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi as both the vesicles and arbuscules were present in the roots. Arbuscular frequency was the highest in the roots of E. scaber (0.3 to 98.7), followed by A. precatorius (5.97 to 61.46) and lowest inC. indicum (0.1 to 31.7). Correspondingly, vesicular frequency was the highest in E. scaber(0 to 63.33) and lowest in C. indicum (31.83 to 40.2). It is apparent from the results that the extent of mycorrhizal colonization varied significantly with the seasonal variations throughout the year. Spore analysis from the rhizosphere soil sample exhibited a great deal of variation in their frequency and occurrence in different seasons of the year and also in their morphological features. The VAM/arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) fungi observed in the present study mostly belong to the species group of Glomus. Key words: Vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM), arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM),Glomus species, Acaulospora scrobiculata, Sclerocystis species, Abrus precatorius,Elephantopus scaber, Sida rhombifolia, Clerodendrum indicum.

Determination of upper reference value of urinary calcium-creatinine ratio for the paediatric population in Burdwan district

To estimate the rate of excretion of urinary calcium, a 24-hour sample of urine is required and this is not always easy to collect accurately in infant and children. So, random urine calcium to creatinine ratio (Ca/Cr ratio) has been developed. But as the ratio varies worldwide, reference values of the parameter in paediatric population are not developed. To determine reference value, the present study was conducted in healthy paediatric population in Burdwan district, West Bengal. This study was performed on 693 healthy paediatric subjects, aged between 3 months to 18 years and divided into five groups. Early morning non-fasting urine samples from all study groups were analyzed for Ca/Cr ratio. A negative correlation was observed between age and urinary Ca/Cr ratio, but there was no significant difference of urinary Ca/Cr ratio between two sexes. Considering 97.5th percentile of the underlying distribution of values as the upper limit of reference range, upper reference values of urinary Ca/Cr ratio for age groups of

Profile of Child Labourers in a Rural Area of West Bengal: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Child labour in India is the practice where children are engaged in Economic activities. Poverty, lack of good school infrastructures and growth of informal economy are considered as the important causes of child labour in India. According to UNICEF India has the highest number of labourers in the world under 14 years of age. Objective: To describe the job pattern of Child labourers in a rural Block of West Bengal and to assess the socio-demographic characteristic of child labourers under study .Materials and Methods: A Cross sectional Observational study was conducted in Paharhati Block in the district of Burdwan, West Bengal from December 2012 to February 2013 among children aged 5 to 14 years. Assuming 6.8% of the 5-14 years population engaged in child labour , the estimated study population would be about 2080. About 5% of this estimated study population i.e. 104 would be involved in the study. With design effect of 2, the number would be 208 and was selected through 30 cluster sampling and about 7 child labourers per cluster were gathered by 'Snowball' technique was used for for data collection . Data was compiled and analyzed by SPSS 16.0 and presented in tables as proportions. Results: The study done on 210 participants revealed that Mean age of participants was 12 years. Male participants 72.4% and Female 27.6%. Majority of participants belonged to Hindu community i.e 63.3% and 67.1% child labourers were from locality . 51.9% had primary education and rest were illiterate. 54.8% belonged to nuclear family and 63.3% from lower socioeconomic status. Mean duration of present working was 34 months and mean duration of each shift was 8.23 hours mainly in afternoon session (66.7%) . 47.6% had addictions to different substances and 17.6% were engaged in regular Gambling. 40% participants were happy about their present situation of life and 60% were unhappy. 71% children belonged to illiterate mothers. Force by parents(47.65) was major cause of school dropout and poverty (43.85%) was main cause of working. Salary/wages were taken and spent by fathers in 58.6% cases and fathers mainly abused children(41%). Proper legislation , imposition of penalties can not only solve problems. Government, NGO s and common people should work jointly for permanent solution of the problem. I. Background: Child labour in India is the practice where children engaged in Economic activities, on part time or full time basis. The practice deprives children of their childhood and is harmful to their physical and mental development. Poverty, lack of good school infrastructures and growth of informal economy are considered as the important causes of child labour in India 1 . UNICEF estimated that India has the highest number of labourers in the world under 14 years of age. ILO and FAO estimated that 60% to 70% of child labour is deployed in agricultural and related activities. Outside of agriculture, child labour is observed in almost all informal sectors of Indian Economy 2 . The study relating to the issue of child labour in rural area of West Bengal is not very prominent and the present study is planned to supplement the existing information, if present. Objectives:

Application of Remote Sensing & GIS in Crop Information System – a case study of Paddy monitoring in Jamalpur Block

This study focused on the application of Remote Sensing & Geographic Information System in Development of Crop Information System (CIS) for sustainable rice production in Jamalpur block which is located (23°04'N,87°59'E & 23°07'N,87°98'E) in Burdwan district of West Bengal, India. There rice fields were identified through Remote Sensing (RS) techniques. Aus, Aman and Boro, this three types of paddy (rice) distribution were shown using Landsat TM satellite data. The secondary data were collected from the Assistant Director's office of Agriculture, Jamalpur block. The cultivated area of different types of rice is calculated from each Gram Panchayet. The both data of rice area one which has been calculated by Remote Sensing method and another one which has been collected from ADA office are compared. Field data is used to generate the variation curve of different types of rice production in the block. It is also shown the gradually changing of rice cultivated area in this block. Finally, it is observed that all the geographic queries carried out in this research are as a result of the available dataset. So that, the decision making bodies can access to information on rice growth and management in the study area.

125P Community Therapy by Early Breast Cancer Detection and its Prevention by Lifestyle Modification

ABSTRACT In India, breast cancer accounts for 25- 33% of all cancers in urban women and over 50% patients are diagnosed at late stages (III & IV), deeply impacting survival-rate. Statistics forecasts rural areas are 10% more likely to be affected with late-stage breast cancer. One of the strongest risk factors for developing breast cancer is preceded by lifestyle. Therefore lifestyle modification can herald in prevention of disease. Early mammography detection also results in good survival in 75% of cases as seen in West. This trend can be achieved in rural India with aggressive awareness, precautionary screening and treatments. Our objective was to ascertain a comprehensive clinically-relevant diagnostic and curative model in conjunction with community outreach and mobilization program along with life style modification. During January, 2001 to December, 2011 we performed awareness and early detection camps in Burdwan district every month. Target population was rural females of age group 25-60 yrs. We covered 20,000 female of 18 blocks and followed them regularly. Our endeavor involved awareness for breast cancer associated risk factors, early self-detectable symptoms, along with benefits of lifestyle modification, screening women for characteristic masses/lumps and follow up. We confirmed one doubtful case by micro-calcification using mammography in our satellite center. Till date we have seen that mere modification of lifestyle can reduce incidence of breast cancer by almost 60%. Recommendations to be implemented are marriage within 23-27 yrs, two childbirths before 30 years, breast feeding for at least six months, 30 minutes brisk walking five days a week, high quality of nutritious diet without fatty and salty food, 3 L of water per day, avoiding alcohol, tobacco and leading a tension-free life. We were able to detect 160 cases (0.03%) in early stage among which 157 (98.12%) were disease free on follow-up. Three had progressed with metastasis. Retrospective history suggests that the breast cancer cases were used to be detected in advanced stage in that area. Life style modification and early detection is very important in breast cancer control in our country. We are willing to continue same program in larger randomized scale. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Rice trade in the ‘rice bowl of Bengal’: Burdwan 1880–1947

Burdwan district, with its advantageous position in transportation network and good resource endowments, spontaneously responded to the commercialisation of agriculture. Rice received considerable commercial importance in the second half of the nineteenth century. It found access to new markets within and outside Bengal and consequently rice trade flourished. Rice trade was carried on regularly in an organised way in Burdwan and expanded considerably from the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The business acumen as well as entrepreneurial activities of Burdwan’s traders and merchants was successfully demonstrated with the expansion of commercialisation of agriculture. The rice merchants and rice millers dominated the rice trade of Burdwan, forming associations for protecting and promoting their business. They carried on their trade independently and successfully, demonstrating their entrepreneurial ability.

Educational and Political Awareness of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes– A Brief Study

The present study proposes to understand the excruciating problems of more than twenty-five crores of the Indian who are Constitutionally categorized as members of the SCs and STs.. In this respect this paper aimed to provide an understanding and to study the Educational(EDA) and Political awareness(PA) of SC and ST people. 30 SC and 30 ST people of Burdwan district were selected as sample to estimate their awareness. Data were analyzed by adopting appropriate methods. It was observed from the findings that the degree of awareness of the both SC and ST people is average, Socio-economic status (SES) score of the SC people is higher than the ST people and there is a relation between SES and EDA and SES and PA both of the SC and ST groups.