Alwar district is situated in the north-east of Rajasthan between 27° 4’ and 28° 4’ north latitudes and 76° 7’ and 77° 13’ east longitudes. It is bounded on the north and north-east by Gurgaon district of Haryana State and Bharatpur district and on the north-west by Mahendragarh district of Punjab State, on the south-west by Jaipur district and on the south by Sawai Madhopur and Jaipur district. The total area of the district is 8380 sq kms. The district headquarters is located at Alwar.

The district is fairly regular quadrilateral in shape. The region is characterized by topography of more or less flat-topped hills, which become more prominent and precipitous in the south-western parts of the district forming the northern continuation of the main Aravalli ranges. They enclose between them fertile valleys and high tableland. The drainage belonging to the Sota, Sahibi and Barah network is in land and ephemeral. The central part of the district is covered by Aravalli hills, which run north-south ranging in height from 456 meters to 700 meters. This tract is fairly wooded.

Total population of the district according to 1991 census was 2.3 million comprising of 1.2 million males and 1.1 million females. Population living in rural area was 2.0 million while 0.3 million people were living in urban area. The Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes population was 0.4 million (17.4%) and 0.2 million (8.7%) respectively.

Table 1. Profile of Alwar district at a glance

Out of the total population of 2.3 million, about 86.9% of the population lived in the rural area. The population density was considerably higher (273) as compared to that of entire Rajasthan (128). The decennial growth rate of the population in urban area was 2.5 times that of rural area. Overall literacy rate in the district was less than fifty percent. Hindi, Punjabi, and Rajasthani are the main languages spoken in the district. Hinduism is the main religion (2.0 million) followed by Islam (0.2 million).

Table 2. Villages having one or more amenities in the district (1991 census)

The National Highway No. 8 that connects Jaipur with Delhi passes through the district. A Statae Highway also runs from Alwar to Bharatpur. Alwar, the district headquarters, is connected with Delhi through a metre gauge section of Western Railway.

Kharif crops grown in the district comprise of bajra, jowar, maize, tur and other pulses. Rabi crops include wheat, barley, and gram. Some other cereals and millets are also grown. Main sources available for irrigation in the district are wells and tanks.

Out of the total livestock population 33.8% were goats, 30.7% cattle, and 25.5% buffaloes. There were 17 veterinary hospitals located in various parts of the district. In addition, there were 13 veterinary dispensaries.

The large scale industries in the district are related to Iron and steel, machine tools, chemicals and synthetics, and coal fired power plant. Other medium sized industries are involved in manufacturing of edible oils, printing and publishing, and stone crushing. Among cottage industry in rural areas cloth printing and dyeing, lac bangle making, stone carving, and pottery are undertaken.

The main export from the district is mainly agricultural produce like food grains, oil seeds, edible oils, and spices. The main articles that are imported consist of cloth, tobacco, industrial machinery, kerosene, petrol, and diesel.

Table 3. Administrative units in Alwar district

Table 4. Govt. and Medical Institution in Alwar district.

Table 5. Health Personnel Working in Govt. Sector in Alwar

National Surveillance Programme for communicable Diseases

Alwar district in Rajasthan was included as a pilot district in 1998. The district Rapid Response Team was trained by the State Nodal Officer at Jaipur but some of the trained staff has since been transferred. The untrained staff has to be trained. District laboratory has been identified and upgraded. The weekly and monthly reports are being received by NICD. Table 6, shows the list of the members of RRT in Alwar district.

Table 6.Composition of Alwar District RRT

Laboratory support:

The laboratory has been identified and upgraded but is still not functioning. The equipments have been purchased but were not installed. There is a shortage of technical assistance. Repeated requests to commence the functioning of the laboratory failed to receive any positive response. The tests available are only routine haematology and biochemistry. Mo microbiological tests are available. The only tests available is for hepatitis B. This is also available with the blood bank During the year 2000 (only up to Sept.) and up to July 2001, 822 and 460 patients were screened and all were negative for HBsAG.

Lessons learnt

• The monthly reporting of cases and deaths due to communicable diseases have been highly irregular. No report has been received from Ajmer since September 2000. The importance of regular reporting to the National institute of Communicable Diseases was stressed during the meeting with the District Nodal Officer.
• The district had not received the standard case definitions. No local adaptation of standard case definition was available. Therefore case reporting was liable to subjective interpretation. The comparison of data over different time periods, geographical areas, and population groups was difficult to make in the absence of uniform case definition. It was agreed the standard case definition prepared by NICD would be supplied to the District Nodal Officer. The same could be simplified and adapted in local language to be used by paramedical staff.
• Adequate laboratory space was available, and the hospital administration indicated that more space could be made available if so required. Though the microscope is available, none of the four laboratory technicians have been specifically trained for microbiology. It appeared that the laboratory was under-utilized. Other health institutions in the district could be encouraged to use this facility more intensely. At the same time, it would be appropriate if the range of services currently available at the laboratory is enlarged by providing additional resource and training in-puts.
• There are two sanitary inspectors, who are members of district RRT. As per the guidelines there is no position for sanitary inspectors to be members of RRT. Therefore, it is suggested that the Statistician and a Laboratory expert may replace these staff members.