India willing to address trade deficit with Uganda: PM Modi
Kampala, July 25 : Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that his country is willing to address the current trade imbalance with Uganda.
"If I compare India-Uganda trade ties, I can see that we are in a win-win situation," Modi said while addressing the Uganda-India Business Forum here. "But we are falling short and to correct that we need to strategise," he said.
Stating that Ugandan President is right in saying that there is trade imbalance between India and Uganda, the Prime Minister said: "India is willing to take steps to address the trade deficit between India and Uganda."
He exhorted the business community to fully exploit the favourable conditions for doing business between India and Uganda.
"India is ready to work with Uganda in the fields of capacity building, human resource development, skill development, innovation and also in adding value to the abundant natural resources available in this country," Modi stated.
He also stressed on innovation saying that without this the world cannot go ahead.
"Uganda can go ahead if the youth of Uganda and India work together," he said, adding that the East African country can play an important role in the overall development of Africa.
On his part, Museveni, while exhorting the business community from both countries to tap the opportunities available for enhancing trade and investment, said: "You are in the right place in the right time."
Modi arrived here on Tuesday from Rwanda on the second leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to South Africa.
This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from India to Uganda in over 20 years. For Modi, this is his second visit to this East African nation after his visit in 2007 as Gujarat Chief Minister.
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Two women died, 6 taken ill after ‘consuming’ mango kernel gruel in Odisha
Bhubaneswar/Berhampur/Phulbani, Nov 1: At least two tribal women died and six others fell ill after allegedly consuming mango kernel gruel in Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said on Friday.
Consumption of mango kernel, prepared by boiling the seeds in water, was reported from Mandipanka village in the district's Daringbadi block, an officer said.
While one of the two women (Rasmita Pattamajhi aged 22) died on Thursday night at Mohana community health centre in Gajapati district where she was undergoing treatment after "consuming the gruel", another woman (Runu Majhi aged 29) breathed her last while being taken to MKCG Medical College Hospital in Berhampur, Gadapur sarpanch Kumari Mallick said.
Six others, who fell ill after allegedly consuming the gruel, were admitted to a hospital and their condition was critical, said Dr Subrat Das, a medical officer of the health facility.
"All the six have been admitted to the hospital in a serious condition. We suspected that they fell sick due to food poisoning. The exact cause of the illness will be ascertained after completion of the investigation," he added.
The six were identified as Pravati Patmajhi, Dranglu Patmajhi, Tuni Majhi, Susama Patmajhi, Jita Majhi and Jibanti Majhi, Daringbadi BDO Pritiranjan Ratha said.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has rejected allegations that tribal people have been consuming mango kernel gruel due to a lack of access to rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Rasmita's husband Anil Pattamajhi alleged that they were denied rice under PDS for the last three months because of which his wife consumed mango kernel.
However, Kandhamal district magistrate-cum-collector Amrit Ruturaj dismissed the allegations, saying the family received rice according to PDS norms. "We are awaiting the postmortem report to determine the facts," the collector added.
Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, who is also in-charge of the women and child development department said, "It is not a case of malnutrition. Mango kernel is part of their (tribal) regular diet. Sometime, the mango kernels get contaminated and lead to such unfortunate incidents. We have been actively spreading awareness about the risks of food contamination."
Health and family welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling, who ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of two tribal women, said a team from the district headquarters hospital and another local team are at the spot to assess the situation and conduct a detailed probe into the incident.
Mahaling said that the government was waiting for the postmortem report for a confirmation on the cause of the deaths. "People in Kandhamal consume mango kernel. It is common in that region and there also have been reports of health complications linked to it in the past," he said.
The Kandhmal incident reminds a similar tragedy involving mango kernel deaths in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, where at least 20 people died in 2001, and two more succumbed to mango kernel consumption in 2016. Additionally, mango kernel has claimed lives in Laxmipur in Koraput district in 2012 and 2013, as well as in Jharigaon in Nabarangpur district in 2018.
