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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Commercial LPG 'evaporates' in Maharashtra

Mumbai : The short supply of commercial LPG cylinders turned ‘grim’ on Wednesday as hundreds of small and medium eateries – on whom the ordinary working Mumbaikars depend on for daily meals – shut down or drastically trimmed menus, on Wednesday.   With an estimated 50,000-plus hotels, restaurants and small food joints, the crunch is beginning to be felt severely, said Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) vice-president and Hotel and Restaurant Association Western...

Commercial LPG 'evaporates' in Maharashtra

Mumbai : The short supply of commercial LPG cylinders turned ‘grim’ on Wednesday as hundreds of small and medium eateries – on whom the ordinary working Mumbaikars depend on for daily meals – shut down or drastically trimmed menus, on Wednesday.   With an estimated 50,000-plus hotels, restaurants and small food joints, the crunch is beginning to be felt severely, said Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) vice-president and Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI) spokesperson Pradeep Shetty.   “We are in continuous touch with the concerned authorities, but the situation is very gloomy. There is no response from the Centre or the Ministry of Petroleum on when the situation will ease. We fear that more than 50 pc of all eateries in Mumbai will soon down the shutters. The same will apply to the rest of the state and many other parts of India,” Shetty told  ‘ The Perfect Voice’ .   The shortage of commercial LPG has badly affected multiple sectors, including the hospitality and food industries, mass private or commercial kitchens and even the laundry businesses, industry players said.   At their wits' ends, many restaurateurs resorted to the reliable old iron ‘chulhas’ (stoves) fired by either coal or wood - the prices of which have also shot up and result in pollution - besides delaying the cooking.   Anticipating a larger crisis, even domestic LPG consumers besieged retail dealers in Mumbai, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Akola, Nagpur to book their second cylinder, with snaky queues in many cities. The stark reality of the 12-days old Gulf war with the disturbed supplies has hit the people and industries in the food supply chains that feed crores daily.   “The ordinary folks leave home in the morning after breakfast, then they rely on the others in the food chain for their lunch or dinner. Many street retailers have also shut down temporarily,” said Shetty.   Dry Snacks A quick survey of some suburban ‘khau gullies’ today revealed that the available items were mostly cold sandwiches, fruit or vegetable salads, cold desserts or ice-creams, cold beverages and packed snacks. Few offered the regular ‘piping hot’ foods that need elaborate cooking, or charging higher than normal menu rates, and even the app-based food delivery system was impacted.   Many people were seen gloomily munching on colorful packets of dry snacks like chips, chivda, sev, gathiya, samosas, etc. for lunch, the usually cheerful ‘chai ki dukaans’ suddenly disappeared from their corners, though soft drinks and tetrapaks were available.   Delay, Scarcity  Maharashtra LPG Dealers Association President Deepak Singh yesterday conceded to “some delays due to supply shortages” of commercial cylinders, but assured that there is no scarcity of domestic cylinders.   “We are adhering to the Centre’s guidelines for a 25 days booking period between 2 cylinders (domestic). The issue is with commercial cylinders but even those are available though less in numbers,” said Singh, adding that guidelines to prioritise educational institutions, hospitals, and defence, are being followed, but others are also getting their supplies.   Despite the assurances, Shetty said that the current status is extremely serious since the past week and the intermittent disruptions have escalated into a near-total halt in supplies in many regions since Monday.   Adding to the dismal picture is the likelihood of local hoteliers associations in different cities like Pune, Palghar, Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and more resorting to tough measures from Thursday, including temporary shutdown of their outlets, which have run out of gas stocks.

Beyond Hospitals: The Many Sources of Biomedical Waste

Biomedical waste doesn’t just come from hospitals — it is generated across a wide range of healthcare settings.”

In continuation of last week’s article on Sunita’s hospitalisation and the biomedical waste generated during her treatment, let us now take a closer look at where this waste originates and what it consists of. Biomedical waste doesn’t just come from hospitals — it is generated across a wide range of healthcare settings, from large medical institutions to small clinics and even home-based care. Depending on the type of facility and the nature of medical procedures performed, the volume and kind of waste can vary greatly. In this article, we will explore the primary and secondary sources of biomedical waste and examine its key components, some of which pose serious health and environmental risks.


As mentioned, biomedical waste originates from a variety of healthcare settings, which can be broadly classified into two categories: primary and secondary sources. The primary sources include private and government general hospitals, maternity hospitals, clinics of general practitioners, medical colleges, veterinary colleges and hospitals, blood banks, pathology labs, animal houses affiliated with research labs (mostly located in pharmaceutical industries), etc. Blood donation camps, dental clinics, domestic healthcare practices, primary healthcare centers, educational institutions, industrial healthcare centres, AYUSH hospitals, etc., are considered secondary sources. The type and quantity of the waste depend on the sources of generation.


Composition of biomedical waste

Waste generated in healthcare centers is broadly divided into hazardous and infectious waste and non-infectious or general waste. Infectious waste is further categorised into the following four major categories:


1) a) Human anatomical and pathological waste: This accounts for only a small fraction, comprising about 10-15 per cent of the total waste generated in a hospital. However, this small fraction is of the biggest concern, as it poses a direct threat to the health and hygiene of human beings by transmitting viral, bacterial, fungal, or parasitic diseases. This type of waste includes internal organs such as appendices, tumours, glands, and tissues. It also includes any other organs removed during surgery, biopsy, or other medical procedures. Body parts like legs or hands that are partially or completely amputated are included. The placenta removed during childbirth is part of this waste. Aborted foetuses are also included.


Blood and other body fluids fall under this category. Animal carcasses and tissues from laboratories are part of this waste as well. Used dressings and cotton swabs soaked in blood or body fluids are included.


Hospital gowns, aprons, and other similar materials also form part of this waste. In short, any material that has been contaminated with a patient’s blood or other body fluids belongs to this category of waste.


b) Animal anatomical and pathological waste: Experimental animal carcasses, body parts, organs, and tissues, including the waste generated from animals used in experiments or testing in veterinary hospitals or colleges, or animal houses in pharma industries, also belong to this category.


2. Plastic waste: The use of plastic articles for treatment purposes has become very common in hospitals, not only in India but all over the world. Disposable plastic items used in hospitals are generally made from high-quality, sterilised plastics like polypropylene, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and PVC, which are ideal for their strength, flexibility, durability, etc. These articles are also ideal for maintaining sterility. Thus offering crucial benefits like infection control and ease of use. However, they also contribute significantly to medical waste, accounting for about 25 per cent to 30 per cent of the total volume. These articles include syringes, IV sets, and tubing used for intravenous administration of medicines; gloves; catheters; endotracheal tubes; cannulas; dialysis sets; blood and urine bags, etc. Most of the syringes are either for intramuscular or hypodermic injections to inject medicine into the body.


3. Metal Sharps: Waste Sharps, including metals, needles, syringes with fixed needles, needles from needle tip cutters or burners, scalpels, blades, or any other contaminated sharp object that may cause punctures and cuts. This includes used, discarded, and contaminated metal sharps.


4. Glass: Broken or discarded and contaminated glass, including medicine vials and ampoules, except those contaminated with cytotoxic wastes.


More on the other categories of waste will be discussed in my next article. Until then, have a good weekend!


(The writer is an environmentalist.)

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