September 23, 2025 • 21 mins
First, we talk to The Indian Express' Sweety Kumari about the flood situation in Kolkata. She shares how heavy rains overnight brought the city to a standstill. How Durga Puja pandals got inundated, metro and transportation got suspended and the entire city got flooded.
Next, we talk to The Indian Express' Anonna Dutt about the World Health Organisation's list of essential medicines that comes out every two years and this year had obesity, diabetes and cancer medications added to it. (9:29)
Lastly, we talk about a 13-year-old boy who reached Delhi all the way from Kunduz in Afghanistan while stowed away in the landing gear of an aircraft. (19:05)
Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Produced and written by Niharika Nanda, Ichha Sharma and Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar
Next, we talk to The Indian Express' Anonna Dutt about the World Health Organisation's list of essential medicines that comes out every two years and this year had obesity, diabetes and cancer medications added to it. (9:29)
Lastly, we talk about a 13-year-old boy who reached Delhi all the way from Kunduz in Afghanistan while stowed away in the landing gear of an aircraft. (19:05)
Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Produced and written by Niharika Nanda, Ichha Sharma and Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In this episode, we talk about a list of essential
medicines that has been shared by the WHO. We also
talk about a thirteen year old who traveled to India
from Afghanistan stored away in the rear wheel well of
an aircraft. But we begin today with Kolkata, where at
least nine people were killed, mostly due to electrocution after
(00:20):
heavy rainfall flooded the city the day before. Hi I
amed Hrikananda and you are listening to Three Things being
an Express news show. Yesterday, Kolkata woke up to find
large parts of the city underwater. Overnight rain left arterial
(00:43):
roads submerged, metro and train services suspended, and even Durga
Puja pandals inundated. At least nine people died after coming
into contact with live buyers, and thousands of commuters were
stranded as transport networks collapsed. In some neighborhoods. Rainfall crossed
three hundred millimeters, prompting the city's mayor to compare the
(01:04):
situation to the devastating floods of nineteen seventy eight. Meanwhile,
schools and offices were shot, flights were diverted, and in
low lying areas, school buildings were turned into shelters. So
to understand how the rains brought Kolkata to a standstill
and what this means for the city with the festival
season around the corner. My colleague Ichasharma speaks to the
(01:27):
Indian expresses Sweeti Kumari, sweety.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
This overnight rainfall, which we understand became fatal for many,
talk about what triggered it and also what has been
its immediate impact.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
So basically a low pressure area over the northwest Bay
of Bengal couple with a cyclonic circulation, it triggered the
recent heavy rainfall. So the torrential downpoll left several people
dead like as for reports, nine have so far died,
out of which seven are from Kolkata itself and those
deth are caused by electrocution.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
And there has been widespread disruption to daily life. And
it started off post midnight.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
So when President of Kolkata woke up, they saw you
know that the city was already submerged into water and
all the areas are flooded. So this heavy rainfall severely
impacted cities, transport network and the entire life came to
a standstill.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Right, and we know that metros and even flights have
been disrupted.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
So talk about how badly did.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
The rains affect the transport system.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Yeah, so, you know, the heavy rainfall severely impacted the
city's transport network. Metro services were partially suspended initially due
to you know, water log tracks, especially on the Blue line.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
Train services were.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Also disrupted as tracks at major stations like Howa and
Salda were completely submerged. Our reports say is that the
flight operations at Kolkata Airport also faced.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Delays and diversions.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
So there have been a massive impact of this rain
and airlines also issued advisories for passengers to you know
check flight statuses. We know that during Durga Puja there's
massive inflow of tourists and even those who stay outside
and they want to come back to hometown to enjoy
this festivity. So this is the big time when you know,
(03:20):
Kolkata Airport or railway station registers maximum football.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
So this sudden rain for which people I.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Would send the administration itself was not prepared, has been
massively impacted. And beyond transport, the flood paralyzed daily life.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
Many low lying neighborhood are summers under knee.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Deep to west deep water with the water entering into
homes and residential complexes. And you know, the flooding also
forced schools to declare holiday and advised office go to
stay home. And there are many videos being circulated in
social media the areas which are usually prone to flood
in Kolkata.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Is usual for people.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
To experience water logging in some pockets of the city,
but this rain has caused flood across the city. I
would say, beat north south everywhere you'll see water.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
And speaking about the impact of this event, we know
that even authorities agreed that the drainage was slow as
water flowed back from it just in areas. So could
you talk about like what does this flooding tell us
about the city's drainage infrastructure.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
So you know, officials have also admitted that the drainage
system is you know, struggling to cope with this sudden downpour.
And the state's geography, I would say being at the
lower end of the Gunga Basin and a part of
the world's largest delta makes it naturally grown to flooding.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
But we see usually such scenes are seen the.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Rural side of the Bengal Howe, a combination of factors
including you know, unplanned urban expansion or poor drainage system
has basically added to the problem. And this high intensity
rainfall event has intensified the situation and people were not
very prepared for this. The inability of this existing savage
(05:08):
infrastructure to handle sudden excess water resulted in a widespread
and prolonged water logging and the pumps are being used
in a state administration is you know, has swung into
action immediately.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
So there are efforts being on, but things cannot be
changed in a day, and we really.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Need to work on our drainage system because ultimately five
hours of rain, though it is being said that for
the last many years Kolkata did not receive such high
intensity rain in a single day.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
However, it has also exposed a bad.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Infrastructure and poor drainage system of the city and.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Sweety considering the upcoming Durga Puja celebrations, how significant is
the disruption for the festive season.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, the timing of the rainfall just before this, you know,
start of Durgapu is particularly disruptive and it has you know,
disappointed people.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
The rain has damaged numerous pandals.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
While you know, we were taking a stock of the situation, outside,
we saw many small pandals completely submerged into water, and
the waterlogging has hindered the final stages of preparations.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Also, you know, pandal organizers are now.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Scrambling to you know, repair the structures and manage electrical safety.
North the festive spirit that we talk about, which you know,
when we talk about Durga, we say during this month,
Kolkata has.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
A different vite.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
So the festive spirit has been dampened with this sudden
rain and with many people who travel through the city
of the celebration are now facing you know, flooded to
streat and disrupted plan. As far as state administration is concerned,
the focus will always be on the city areas and
you know posh areas. So now that the rural side,
the suburban areas which are completely flooded, the people residing
(07:00):
in those areas are completely disappointed and very sad that
how they are going to celebrate, which is going to
start in the next few days. So the government has
mobilized municipal workers to pump out water from flooded areas,
with some officials also working to clear you know, metro track,
railway track. So now basically they have a state control
(07:23):
room also to cope up with this situation. State administration
is working, but this has exposed a bad infrastructural preparation.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
And lastly, sweety have rains been predicted for the next
few days as well?
Speaker 5 (07:37):
And also what immediate steps are authorities taking to restore normalcy?
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Yeah, so basically I'll also point out that these two
fifty one point four million mm of rainfall on Monday
night as force Kolkata not to come to a stand still,
but historically this ranks as the third highest single day
rainfall for September.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
In the city.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
You know, we have a good shared by a weather department.
So on September twenty eight, nineteen seventy eight, the city
have recorded sixty nine point six mm rainfall and through
fifty nine point five mm on September twenty six, nineteen
eighty six. So when considering all time records regardless of
the month, the recent rainfall, which is like is the
(08:19):
city's sixth highest single they total ever recorded. So we
can you know access the situation how bad it was,
so definitely administration will take time.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
To clear the water. They are on their food.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Same month, a also instructed Mayor fhad Harkeem was in
the monitoring room inside the KMC. Throughout this there is
an alert among all the officials. They're trying and as
far as where the forecast is concerned, whether the department
says that the rainfall is going to continue, it will
(08:55):
rain and we should be mentally prepared for a wet
Durga Puja this time. However, they continue to say that
the rainfall would not be a very heavy rainfall, where
the department had predicted that Kolkata will witness rainfall, but
not something which falls under the category of heavy rainfall.
But we saw a completely different situation last night, So
(09:18):
a finger crossed. Let's see how the state administration works
and hopefully, if it doesn't rain, maybe the roads will
be clear by a day or two.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
And next we turn our attention to important life saving medicines.
Every two years, the World Health Organization releases a model
list of essential medicines. This list serves as a guide
for countries to frame their own lists so that crucial
drugs remain affordable and accessible. The selections are made prioritizing
and keeping in mind the unique health challenges of the country.
(09:55):
Now this year, in its twenty fourth list, the who
added certain obesity and weight loss drugs along with specific
cancer medications as well. To find out which medications have
been added to the list and why they are considered essential,
we speak to the Indian Expresses another in this segment
and on our first tellers how these essential list of
(10:16):
medicines work and how important are they for a country's
health planning.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
So what an essential list does is ensure access to
certain medications. So for example, any medication that's mentioned on
the essential list would be typically available in say a
government health facility. So if we look at India's Essential
medicine list, it has certain distinctions. For example, it would
(10:42):
list certain medicines that would be available at a primary
health center, certain medicines that would be available at a
secondary care hospital, certain medicines that would be available at
a tertiary care hospital. So one thing is ensuring access
through the public health system. The list is also used
by governments to procure these medicines, and usually pooled procurements
(11:04):
help reduce the costs etc. In the government setup. Because
these medicines are considered to be essential for the treatment
of certain conditions which are the most commonly found in
a population other than that some countries also use their
essential medicine lists to ensure that they health insurance also
(11:27):
cover these medicines for the patient. So that's essentially the
use of these lists.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
And we understand that the WHO has now added certain
obesity and diabetes medicines to its model list of essential medicines.
Can you tell us which ones these are?
Speaker 5 (11:45):
So there are four of the new GLP one drugs
that have been added to the list, which includes the
blockbuster semaglutide, which people might know as ozempe or vigo vi.
Then there's two more molecules that were covered which came
into the market before semaglutide, which are dula glue tide
and liraglutide. And then there is the most recent drug
(12:10):
to enter the market, which is zepetide, which people would
know as zeb bound or monjaro. So these four molecules
have been added to the list for the treatment of
type two diabetes and obesity. And the committee that was
reviewing all the data also said that these drugs have
shown through various studies to not only lower the blood
(12:33):
glucose levels and result in weight loss, which is what
it was meant for, but also you know, help with
other conditions such as reducing the risk of heart diseases
and kidney diseases, et cetera. It has also been approved
for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, so there are
various benefits to it. However, the committee did not recommend
(12:55):
the use, rather the inclusion of this medicine solely for
obit city without any of these other chronic conditions. So
basically what that would mean in a public health program
would be that these drugs become available for people who
have diabetes and other chronic conditions, however not for people
(13:17):
who are only obese with none of these other comorbidities.
And I would like to add here that of course,
countries will be free to pick and choose from these
medicines that have been listed, depending on their need and
their financial situation.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
But Anna, how serious would you say is the issue
of obesity worldwide? Considering that medications for it have now
been added to essential medicines.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
So the thinging with obesity is that for the longest time,
it wasn't considered to be a disease. It was considered
to be a say, lifestyle issue, but that's no longer
the case because more and more doctors have come to
realize that obesity is a precursor for several other chronic conditions,
including hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, kidney diseases, and a host
(14:07):
of other problems including some of the cancers as well.
So that is the reason there's a lot more focus
on obacity. So the latest figures available for twenty twenty
two say that one in eight people across the world
are obese. And you know, worldwide adult obesity has doubled
(14:27):
between nineteen ninety and twenty twenty two, and the obacity
among adolescens has quadrupled, So that's a huge jump in
you know, say thirty years, and that is what is
leading to more concern because increasing obesity would also mean
increasing you know, other chronic conditions. And the drugs have
(14:50):
become available, Like I mentioned, the two drugs that have
sort of really captured the market semaglue tide enters apetide.
Before that, obesity treatment was not very effective other than
say surgeons performing the bariatric or weight loss surgeries. Medicines
that were so far available were not very effective at
(15:11):
weight loss. However, these medicines have shown to help people
lose up to twenty percent of their body weight, which is,
you know, almost similar to what you would see with
weight loss surgery and anona.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
You write that along with these obasity drugs, certain cancer
medications have also been added to the list.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
Can you tell us about that?
Speaker 5 (15:34):
So one of the most significant additions to the list
is you know, in additions or we can say that
increase in access would be of PD one or pd
L one inhibitors. So these are a class of immunotherapy
medicines which target a protein called PD one or programed
cell death one. So what essentially happens is this protein
(15:58):
is known to suppress, yes, the activity of the immune
cells called T cells. So PD one essentially acts like
a break in the immune systems fight against cancer, and
the drug releases this break. That is how it works.
And one of the most commonly used PD one medicine, pembrolyzumab,
which is known by its brand name k Truda, has
(16:21):
now been included in this WATO list for the first
line treatment of metastatic cervical cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer, and
metasthetic non small cell lung cancer. So earlier it would
be used as say later on in the disease progression.
(16:41):
But now this has been approved as the first line
therapy and for the lung cancer. There are two other
alternatives which the WTO has added etoally zuomab and semipremam.
So these are the cancer drugs that have been included,
and this is essential because these drug especially key truda,
(17:01):
has been shown to be very effective in the treatment
of certain cancers, and yet access remains very difficult because
of you know, these are quite high priced molecules and.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
What do medical experts have to say about these inclusions?
Also what factors were kept in mind while adding these
specific medications to the list.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
So again, like I said, one of the considerations is
that the medicines that get added can do the most
benefit for the most number of people at the least cost.
So those are the considerations that were made. Key Truda,
for example, was included because it's a drug which has
been shown to be effective in certain cancers and its
(17:45):
access would help save lives. But the committee also noted
that there are several other such immunotherapy drugs that have
become available over the years, but the prices of these
drugs have remained high. So the committee said that even
with a very narrow indication and using the medicines with
the highest cost benefit ratio, the drugs are still not
(18:09):
affordable for a lot of the countries, especially the low
income and low middle income countries. So that is one
of the challenges of these medicines. However, what is good
about the fact is that over the next three to
five years some of these medicines will come out of
patent and there would likely be a reduction in prices
(18:31):
when other people start manufacturing these drugs.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Right, So, in the long run this should mean greater
accessibility of these medicines to the general public.
Speaker 5 (18:41):
Right, Yes, that is likely to happen when you know,
generic medicines enter the market. What we have seen with
even say diabetes drugs that have gotten off patent, say
in the last three to four years, is a drastic
drop in the prices up to sometimes ninety percent. So
that is a thing that we have to look out for.
(19:01):
There's likely to be a dipping crisis once these medicines
come off of patent.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
And lastly, we talk about how a thirteen year old
boy from Kundus in Afghanistan stored away in an aircraft's
rare wheel well the internal compartment which houses the landing gear,
carrying just a small red colored audio speaker with him
for over ninety minutes, the boy flew in the wheel well,
miraculously landing unscatthed at the Indra Gandhi International Airport in
(19:33):
the capital. Dressed in a white kurta pajama. He was
spotted by some airport staff who then informed the Central
Industrial Security Force at the airport. According to an official
of the Central Industrial Security Force or the CISF, the
boy had stored away on a Kamairkabul Deeli flight which
had landed at the Igi Airport at ten twenty am.
(19:55):
Upon inquiry, it was found out that the boy wanted
to travel to Iran, so he sneaked into the Kabl airport,
trailed a group of passengers and stored away in an
aircraft's rare wheel well, but it was a flight bound
for Deli, not the Heran. Subsequently, an aircraft security check
was conducted by the airline's security and engineering staff, during
(20:15):
which a small red colored audio speaker was found in
the rear landing gear area.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
The boy was then taken.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
To Immigration department officials at the airport after a detailed questioning.
He was sent back on the same aircraft at four PM.
The mortality rate for wheelwell storeways is estimated at around
seventy seven percent. Commercial aircrafts typically cruise at altitudes between
thirty thousand and forty thousand feet, where temperatures plummet to
(20:42):
around minus fifty degrees celsius. Unlike the aircraft cabin that
is pressurized, lack of oxygen makes survival difficult for a
person traveling in a wheel well which is neither heated
nor pressurized. Apart from hypoxia due to lack of sufficient
oxygen and hypothermia due to freezing temperatures, the chances of
fatal injury by the movement of the landing gear, as
(21:05):
well as the risk of falling out are high, but
the boy miraculously reached Delhi without any injuries. You were
listening to Three Things by the Indian Express. Today's episode
was edited and mixed by Suraish Bravar and produced by
Ichasharma and me Niharikananda. If you like the show, then
(21:25):
do subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. You
can also recommend the show to someone you think we'll
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Express dot com
In this episode, we talk about a list of essential
medicines that has been shared by the WHO. We also
talk about a thirteen year old who traveled to India
from Afghanistan stored away in the rear wheel well of
an aircraft. But we begin today with Kolkata, where at
least nine people were killed, mostly due to electrocution after
(00:20):
heavy rainfall flooded the city the day before. Hi I
amed Hrikananda and you are listening to Three Things being
an Express news show. Yesterday, Kolkata woke up to find
large parts of the city underwater. Overnight rain left arterial
(00:43):
roads submerged, metro and train services suspended, and even Durga
Puja pandals inundated. At least nine people died after coming
into contact with live buyers, and thousands of commuters were
stranded as transport networks collapsed. In some neighborhoods. Rainfall crossed
three hundred millimeters, prompting the city's mayor to compare the
(01:04):
situation to the devastating floods of nineteen seventy eight. Meanwhile,
schools and offices were shot, flights were diverted, and in
low lying areas, school buildings were turned into shelters. So
to understand how the rains brought Kolkata to a standstill
and what this means for the city with the festival
season around the corner. My colleague Ichasharma speaks to the
(01:27):
Indian expresses Sweeti Kumari, sweety.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
This overnight rainfall, which we understand became fatal for many,
talk about what triggered it and also what has been
its immediate impact.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
So basically a low pressure area over the northwest Bay
of Bengal couple with a cyclonic circulation, it triggered the
recent heavy rainfall. So the torrential downpoll left several people
dead like as for reports, nine have so far died,
out of which seven are from Kolkata itself and those
deth are caused by electrocution.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
And there has been widespread disruption to daily life. And
it started off post midnight.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
So when President of Kolkata woke up, they saw you
know that the city was already submerged into water and
all the areas are flooded. So this heavy rainfall severely
impacted cities, transport network and the entire life came to
a standstill.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Right, and we know that metros and even flights have
been disrupted.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
So talk about how badly did.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
The rains affect the transport system.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Yeah, so, you know, the heavy rainfall severely impacted the
city's transport network. Metro services were partially suspended initially due
to you know, water log tracks, especially on the Blue line.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
Train services were.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Also disrupted as tracks at major stations like Howa and
Salda were completely submerged. Our reports say is that the
flight operations at Kolkata Airport also faced.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Delays and diversions.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
So there have been a massive impact of this rain
and airlines also issued advisories for passengers to you know
check flight statuses. We know that during Durga Puja there's
massive inflow of tourists and even those who stay outside
and they want to come back to hometown to enjoy
this festivity. So this is the big time when you know,
(03:20):
Kolkata Airport or railway station registers maximum football.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
So this sudden rain for which people I.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Would send the administration itself was not prepared, has been
massively impacted. And beyond transport, the flood paralyzed daily life.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
Many low lying neighborhood are summers under knee.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Deep to west deep water with the water entering into
homes and residential complexes. And you know, the flooding also
forced schools to declare holiday and advised office go to
stay home. And there are many videos being circulated in
social media the areas which are usually prone to flood
in Kolkata.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Is usual for people.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
To experience water logging in some pockets of the city,
but this rain has caused flood across the city. I
would say, beat north south everywhere you'll see water.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
And speaking about the impact of this event, we know
that even authorities agreed that the drainage was slow as
water flowed back from it just in areas. So could
you talk about like what does this flooding tell us
about the city's drainage infrastructure.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
So you know, officials have also admitted that the drainage
system is you know, struggling to cope with this sudden downpour.
And the state's geography, I would say being at the
lower end of the Gunga Basin and a part of
the world's largest delta makes it naturally grown to flooding.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
But we see usually such scenes are seen the.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Rural side of the Bengal Howe, a combination of factors
including you know, unplanned urban expansion or poor drainage system
has basically added to the problem. And this high intensity
rainfall event has intensified the situation and people were not
very prepared for this. The inability of this existing savage
(05:08):
infrastructure to handle sudden excess water resulted in a widespread
and prolonged water logging and the pumps are being used
in a state administration is you know, has swung into
action immediately.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
So there are efforts being on, but things cannot be
changed in a day, and we really.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Need to work on our drainage system because ultimately five
hours of rain, though it is being said that for
the last many years Kolkata did not receive such high
intensity rain in a single day.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
However, it has also exposed a bad.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Infrastructure and poor drainage system of the city and.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Sweety considering the upcoming Durga Puja celebrations, how significant is
the disruption for the festive season.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, the timing of the rainfall just before this, you know,
start of Durgapu is particularly disruptive and it has you know,
disappointed people.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
The rain has damaged numerous pandals.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
While you know, we were taking a stock of the situation, outside,
we saw many small pandals completely submerged into water, and
the waterlogging has hindered the final stages of preparations.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Also, you know, pandal organizers are now.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Scrambling to you know, repair the structures and manage electrical safety.
North the festive spirit that we talk about, which you know,
when we talk about Durga, we say during this month,
Kolkata has.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
A different vite.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
So the festive spirit has been dampened with this sudden
rain and with many people who travel through the city
of the celebration are now facing you know, flooded to
streat and disrupted plan. As far as state administration is concerned,
the focus will always be on the city areas and
you know posh areas. So now that the rural side,
the suburban areas which are completely flooded, the people residing
(07:00):
in those areas are completely disappointed and very sad that
how they are going to celebrate, which is going to
start in the next few days. So the government has
mobilized municipal workers to pump out water from flooded areas,
with some officials also working to clear you know, metro track,
railway track. So now basically they have a state control
(07:23):
room also to cope up with this situation. State administration
is working, but this has exposed a bad infrastructural preparation.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
And lastly, sweety have rains been predicted for the next
few days as well?
Speaker 5 (07:37):
And also what immediate steps are authorities taking to restore normalcy?
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Yeah, so basically I'll also point out that these two
fifty one point four million mm of rainfall on Monday
night as force Kolkata not to come to a stand still,
but historically this ranks as the third highest single day
rainfall for September.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
In the city.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
You know, we have a good shared by a weather department.
So on September twenty eight, nineteen seventy eight, the city
have recorded sixty nine point six mm rainfall and through
fifty nine point five mm on September twenty six, nineteen
eighty six. So when considering all time records regardless of
the month, the recent rainfall, which is like is the
(08:19):
city's sixth highest single they total ever recorded. So we
can you know access the situation how bad it was,
so definitely administration will take time.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
To clear the water. They are on their food.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Same month, a also instructed Mayor fhad Harkeem was in
the monitoring room inside the KMC. Throughout this there is
an alert among all the officials. They're trying and as
far as where the forecast is concerned, whether the department
says that the rainfall is going to continue, it will
(08:55):
rain and we should be mentally prepared for a wet
Durga Puja this time. However, they continue to say that
the rainfall would not be a very heavy rainfall, where
the department had predicted that Kolkata will witness rainfall, but
not something which falls under the category of heavy rainfall.
But we saw a completely different situation last night, So
(09:18):
a finger crossed. Let's see how the state administration works
and hopefully, if it doesn't rain, maybe the roads will
be clear by a day or two.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
And next we turn our attention to important life saving medicines.
Every two years, the World Health Organization releases a model
list of essential medicines. This list serves as a guide
for countries to frame their own lists so that crucial
drugs remain affordable and accessible. The selections are made prioritizing
and keeping in mind the unique health challenges of the country.
(09:55):
Now this year, in its twenty fourth list, the who
added certain obesity and weight loss drugs along with specific
cancer medications as well. To find out which medications have
been added to the list and why they are considered essential,
we speak to the Indian Expresses another in this segment
and on our first tellers how these essential list of
(10:16):
medicines work and how important are they for a country's
health planning.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
So what an essential list does is ensure access to
certain medications. So for example, any medication that's mentioned on
the essential list would be typically available in say a
government health facility. So if we look at India's Essential
medicine list, it has certain distinctions. For example, it would
(10:42):
list certain medicines that would be available at a primary
health center, certain medicines that would be available at a
secondary care hospital, certain medicines that would be available at
a tertiary care hospital. So one thing is ensuring access
through the public health system. The list is also used
by governments to procure these medicines, and usually pooled procurements
(11:04):
help reduce the costs etc. In the government setup. Because
these medicines are considered to be essential for the treatment
of certain conditions which are the most commonly found in
a population other than that some countries also use their
essential medicine lists to ensure that they health insurance also
(11:27):
cover these medicines for the patient. So that's essentially the
use of these lists.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
And we understand that the WHO has now added certain
obesity and diabetes medicines to its model list of essential medicines.
Can you tell us which ones these are?
Speaker 5 (11:45):
So there are four of the new GLP one drugs
that have been added to the list, which includes the
blockbuster semaglutide, which people might know as ozempe or vigo vi.
Then there's two more molecules that were covered which came
into the market before semaglutide, which are dula glue tide
and liraglutide. And then there is the most recent drug
(12:10):
to enter the market, which is zepetide, which people would
know as zeb bound or monjaro. So these four molecules
have been added to the list for the treatment of
type two diabetes and obesity. And the committee that was
reviewing all the data also said that these drugs have
shown through various studies to not only lower the blood
(12:33):
glucose levels and result in weight loss, which is what
it was meant for, but also you know, help with
other conditions such as reducing the risk of heart diseases
and kidney diseases, et cetera. It has also been approved
for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, so there are
various benefits to it. However, the committee did not recommend
(12:55):
the use, rather the inclusion of this medicine solely for
obit city without any of these other chronic conditions. So
basically what that would mean in a public health program
would be that these drugs become available for people who
have diabetes and other chronic conditions, however not for people
(13:17):
who are only obese with none of these other comorbidities.
And I would like to add here that of course,
countries will be free to pick and choose from these
medicines that have been listed, depending on their need and
their financial situation.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
But Anna, how serious would you say is the issue
of obesity worldwide? Considering that medications for it have now
been added to essential medicines.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
So the thinging with obesity is that for the longest time,
it wasn't considered to be a disease. It was considered
to be a say, lifestyle issue, but that's no longer
the case because more and more doctors have come to
realize that obesity is a precursor for several other chronic conditions,
including hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, kidney diseases, and a host
(14:07):
of other problems including some of the cancers as well.
So that is the reason there's a lot more focus
on obacity. So the latest figures available for twenty twenty
two say that one in eight people across the world
are obese. And you know, worldwide adult obesity has doubled
(14:27):
between nineteen ninety and twenty twenty two, and the obacity
among adolescens has quadrupled, So that's a huge jump in
you know, say thirty years, and that is what is
leading to more concern because increasing obesity would also mean
increasing you know, other chronic conditions. And the drugs have
(14:50):
become available, Like I mentioned, the two drugs that have
sort of really captured the market semaglue tide enters apetide.
Before that, obesity treatment was not very effective other than
say surgeons performing the bariatric or weight loss surgeries. Medicines
that were so far available were not very effective at
(15:11):
weight loss. However, these medicines have shown to help people
lose up to twenty percent of their body weight, which is,
you know, almost similar to what you would see with
weight loss surgery and anona.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
You write that along with these obasity drugs, certain cancer
medications have also been added to the list.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
Can you tell us about that?
Speaker 5 (15:34):
So one of the most significant additions to the list
is you know, in additions or we can say that
increase in access would be of PD one or pd
L one inhibitors. So these are a class of immunotherapy
medicines which target a protein called PD one or programed
cell death one. So what essentially happens is this protein
(15:58):
is known to suppress, yes, the activity of the immune
cells called T cells. So PD one essentially acts like
a break in the immune systems fight against cancer, and
the drug releases this break. That is how it works.
And one of the most commonly used PD one medicine, pembrolyzumab,
which is known by its brand name k Truda, has
(16:21):
now been included in this WATO list for the first
line treatment of metastatic cervical cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer, and
metasthetic non small cell lung cancer. So earlier it would
be used as say later on in the disease progression.
(16:41):
But now this has been approved as the first line
therapy and for the lung cancer. There are two other
alternatives which the WTO has added etoally zuomab and semipremam.
So these are the cancer drugs that have been included,
and this is essential because these drug especially key truda,
(17:01):
has been shown to be very effective in the treatment
of certain cancers, and yet access remains very difficult because
of you know, these are quite high priced molecules and.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
What do medical experts have to say about these inclusions?
Also what factors were kept in mind while adding these
specific medications to the list.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
So again, like I said, one of the considerations is
that the medicines that get added can do the most
benefit for the most number of people at the least cost.
So those are the considerations that were made. Key Truda,
for example, was included because it's a drug which has
been shown to be effective in certain cancers and its
(17:45):
access would help save lives. But the committee also noted
that there are several other such immunotherapy drugs that have
become available over the years, but the prices of these
drugs have remained high. So the committee said that even
with a very narrow indication and using the medicines with
the highest cost benefit ratio, the drugs are still not
(18:09):
affordable for a lot of the countries, especially the low
income and low middle income countries. So that is one
of the challenges of these medicines. However, what is good
about the fact is that over the next three to
five years some of these medicines will come out of
patent and there would likely be a reduction in prices
(18:31):
when other people start manufacturing these drugs.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Right, So, in the long run this should mean greater
accessibility of these medicines to the general public.
Speaker 5 (18:41):
Right, Yes, that is likely to happen when you know,
generic medicines enter the market. What we have seen with
even say diabetes drugs that have gotten off patent, say
in the last three to four years, is a drastic
drop in the prices up to sometimes ninety percent. So
that is a thing that we have to look out for.
(19:01):
There's likely to be a dipping crisis once these medicines
come off of patent.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
And lastly, we talk about how a thirteen year old
boy from Kundus in Afghanistan stored away in an aircraft's
rare wheel well the internal compartment which houses the landing gear,
carrying just a small red colored audio speaker with him
for over ninety minutes, the boy flew in the wheel well,
miraculously landing unscatthed at the Indra Gandhi International Airport in
(19:33):
the capital. Dressed in a white kurta pajama. He was
spotted by some airport staff who then informed the Central
Industrial Security Force at the airport. According to an official
of the Central Industrial Security Force or the CISF, the
boy had stored away on a Kamairkabul Deeli flight which
had landed at the Igi Airport at ten twenty am.
(19:55):
Upon inquiry, it was found out that the boy wanted
to travel to Iran, so he sneaked into the Kabl airport,
trailed a group of passengers and stored away in an
aircraft's rare wheel well, but it was a flight bound
for Deli, not the Heran. Subsequently, an aircraft security check
was conducted by the airline's security and engineering staff, during
(20:15):
which a small red colored audio speaker was found in
the rear landing gear area.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
The boy was then taken.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
To Immigration department officials at the airport after a detailed questioning.
He was sent back on the same aircraft at four PM.
The mortality rate for wheelwell storeways is estimated at around
seventy seven percent. Commercial aircrafts typically cruise at altitudes between
thirty thousand and forty thousand feet, where temperatures plummet to
(20:42):
around minus fifty degrees celsius. Unlike the aircraft cabin that
is pressurized, lack of oxygen makes survival difficult for a
person traveling in a wheel well which is neither heated
nor pressurized. Apart from hypoxia due to lack of sufficient
oxygen and hypothermia due to freezing temperatures, the chances of
fatal injury by the movement of the landing gear, as
(21:05):
well as the risk of falling out are high, but
the boy miraculously reached Delhi without any injuries. You were
listening to Three Things by the Indian Express. Today's episode
was edited and mixed by Suraish Bravar and produced by
Ichasharma and me Niharikananda. If you like the show, then
(21:25):
do subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. You
can also recommend the show to someone you think we'll
like it, share it with a friend, or someone in
your family. It's the best way for people to get
to know about us. You can also tweet us at
Express podcast and write to us at podcasts at Indian
Express dot com
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