Global threat: 60% of deaths caused by chronic diseases

New Delhi: Three out of every five deaths in 2008 were caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like cancer, stroke, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. What's worse, deaths caused by these diseases are expected to increase by 15% in the next decade — from 36 million in 2008 to 44 million in 2020. In 2030, it will cross the 50 million mark.
The region projected to have the greatest total number of NCD deaths in 2020 is South-East Asia — 10.4 million deaths. These stats are bound to bother India since 80% of these deaths occurred and will occur in low and middle income countries, according to the first global status report on NCDs launched on Wednesday by the World Health Organization.
Calling it "an impending disaster for many countries — a disaster for health, for society and national economies", WHO director general Dr Margaret Chan said "Chronic NCDs deliver a two-punch blow to development. They cause billions of dollars in losses of national income, and they push millions of people below the poverty line, each and every year."
According to the report, of the 57 million global deaths in 2008, 36 million, or 63%, were due to NCDs. Each year, NCDs are estimated to cause more than 9 million deaths before the age of 60 years. Over 80% of cardiovascular and diabetes deaths, almost 90% of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and more than two thirds of all cancer deaths occur in lowand middle-income countries.
NCDs also kill at a younger age in countries like India where 29% of NCD deaths occur among people under the age of 60, compared to 13% in high-income countries.
CVDs, cancer, respiratory disease and diabetes account for around 80% of all NCD deaths, and share four common risk factors: tobacco use, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol and poor diets.
Dr Ala Alwan, WHO's assistant director-general for NCDs said "about 30% of people dying from NCDs are aged under 60 years and are in their most productive period of life. These premature deaths are largely preventable."
"Poverty contributes to NCDs and NCDs contribute to poverty. Around 29 million of the overall deaths in 2008 were due to NCDs in low and middle income countries, dispelling the myth that such conditions are mainly a problem of affluent societies. Without action, the NCD epidemic is projected to kill 52 million people annually by 2030," Dr Alwan added.
Killers On The Prowl

Tobacco | 6m die from tobacco use each year. By 2020, this number will increase to 7.5m, accounting for 10% of all deaths. Smoking causes 71% cases of lung cancer, 42% of chronic respiratory disease and 10% of cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular diseases |
Account for most NCD deaths, or 17m people annually, followed by cancer (7.6m), respiratory disease (4.2m), and diabetes (1.3m)

Physical activity |
Approximately 3.2m people die each year due to physical inactivity. People who are insufficiently physically active have a 30% increased risk of all-cause mortality

Alcohol | 2.5m die each year from use of alcohol, accounting for 3.8% of all deaths in the world. More than half of these deaths occur from NCDs including cancers, cardiovascular disease and liver cirrhosis

Blood pressure |
Raised blood pressure is estimated to cause 7.5m deaths, about 12.8% of all deaths

Diet | Adequate consumption of fruit and vegetables reduces the risk for cardiovascular diseases, stomach cancer and colorectal cancer. Most populations consume much higher levels of salt than recommended by WHO

Overweight and obesity | At least 2.8m people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. Risks of heart disease, strokes and diabetes increase steadily with increasing body mass index (BMI)

Cholesterol |
Raised cholesterol causes 2.6m deaths annually

Cancer-associated infections | 2m cancer cases per year, 18% of the global cancer burden, are attributable to a few specific chronic infections

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CANCER UPDATE

I know this is not about hair but I found it extremely important to share. If any knows anything about me, I'm into natural/alternative medicine and health/wellness. Please read and pass along. ENJOY!

Johns Hopkins Update –
This is an extremely good article. Everyone should read it.

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY ('TRY', BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY.

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins:

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer
cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have
multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients
that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after
treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the
cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable
size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a
person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer
cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and
forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has
nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic,
but also to environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing
diet to eat more adequately and healthy, 4-5 times/day and by including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing
cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells
in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can
cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars
and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often
reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of
chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor
destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from
chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either
compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb
to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to
mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy.
Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other
sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer
cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

*CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made
with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute
would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small
amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in
color Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the
gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting
off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer
cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based
diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little other meat,
like chicken. Meat also contains livestock
antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all
harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole
grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into
an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked
food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live
enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to
cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance
growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building
healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most
vegetables including be an sprouts) and eat some raw
vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at
temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C)..

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high
caffeine Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer
fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or
filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap
water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of
digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the
intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic
buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By
refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes
to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the
body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system
(IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals,
EFAs etc.) to enable the bodies own killer cells to destroy
cancer cells.. Other supplements like vitamin E are known
to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's
normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or
unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit.
A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior
be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put
the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to
have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy
life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated
environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to
get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen
therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer
cells.

1. No plastic containers in micro.


2. No water bottles in freezer.


3. No plastic wrap in microwave..

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.
Please share this with your whole email list.........................
Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

LATA,

UPDATE ON MY HAIR

MUMBAI IS STATE’S MALARIA CAPITAL

Of 1.38L Positive Cases In Maharashtra In 2010-11, Nearly 55% Came From The City

Mumbai's ignominious reputation as the state's malaria capital got cemented further as new figures revealed that the city registered nearly 55% of Maharashtra's 1.38 lakh positive cases in 2010-11, pushing it into the league of the country's worst affected states.
Nearly 80,000 cases in Greater Mumbai tested positive for malaria between April 2010 and March 2011, according to statistics recently compiled by the Maharashtra government. This was roughly six times the number recorded in secondworst Gadchiroli.
Many cite a better reporting system as the cause of the steady surge in Mumbai's malaria cases. While there were 27,417 positive instances in 2008-09, it rose to 48,341 by 2009-2010. Between April 2010 and February this year, over 13 lakh samples had been examined here for malaria, of which 75,860—or 5.5%—tested positive.
In the last three months alone, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the city recorded over 12,000 malaria cases and eight deaths.
The surge has been the single biggest factor in making Maharashtra the country's fourth worst malaria-afflicted state behind Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Experts blame unplanned expansion for the problem in Maharashtra, where positive cases rose from 56,852 in 2006-07 to 1.38 lakh in 2010-11.
The picture looks direr when fatalities are considered. Malaria claimed 190 lives in Maharashtra in 2010, which was only marginally less than the 214 recorded deaths in worst ranked Orissa. Here too, Mumbai played a major role. Of the 190 deaths, 129 occurred in the city.
Dr Ashish Dhariwal, the director of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), said that Mumbai has become a bigger cause for concern than Gadchiroli and Raigad, which have reported several cases of resistance to basic malarial drugs.
"Construction work has played havoc with Mumbai's malaria scenario. We have asked the state and the civic corporation to work together," Dhariwal said.
A three-member team from the NVBDCP recently visited Mumbai to study the BMC's preparation for the rains this year. The centre has promised to help the civic body by giving it grantin-aid and commodity assistance. "We will help them procure insecticides and mosquito nets laced with insecticides besides making our experts available to them," said Dhariwal.
The corporation, however, sounded sceptical of Dhariwal's claims. A source in the BMC said that the centre used to help procure insecticides and provide medicines for malaria treatment, "all those grants stopped three years ago".
BMC's executive health officer Dr G T Ambe too said that the corporation was on its own. "Most of the expenses on procurement of oil, mosquito nets and drugs are borne by the corporation, though we do get technical know-how from NVBDCP," Ambe said.
Deadly strain losing sting over time
Mumbai: The gradual decline in cases of plasmodium falciparum malaria, considered the deadliest strain of the disease, in Mumbai has confounded many experts, particularly because the strain is taking an increasing toll in the rest of the country.
Comparative figures compiled by the state's public health department show that the percentage of p falciparum cases among all malaria numbers dropped in Mumbai from 20.20% in 2007-08 to 19.57% in '08-09. After a brief rise in '09-10 to 21.10%, the share again fell to 16.3% in '10-11.
Experts call the decline insignificant, the more so because p vivax malaria, which was rarely known to kill, has been become deadlier in the city.
Meanwhile, according to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), p falciparum numbers have gradually increased in India from 39% in 1995 to 52.12% in 2010, showing the parasite's new dominance.
"This only means that p vivax, which is widely seen in Asian countries, is no longer the dominant strain in parts of India. Instead, it is p falciparum. This could probably explain why the number of reported malaria deaths in India has been more than 1,000 a year," said Dr R S Sharma, an urban malaria expert at NVBDCP. He added that Mumbai was "fortunate" to have low falciparum incidence.
"Once p falciparum cases come down further, it should not be very difficult to curb deaths in Mumbai," said Sharma, who was a part of the special team that recently visited the city to study the BMC's preparations for the monsoon. He explained that incomplete treatment and resistance to basic malarial drugs, which has never been found in Mumbai, are contributing to the rise in falciparum cases across parts of India.
Dr Khusrav Bhajan, a critical care intensivist at P D Hinduja Hospital, said that a fall in falciparum cases might not be of much relevance since p vivax is gaining in potency. "Vivax is more or less behaving like falciparum. This transition has happened over the last few years."

Blogger, Redesigned

Posted by Jinwoo Lee, Blogger tech lead

As we shared before, our team has been hard at work on a brand new, next generation design for Blogger. After doing a sneak preview at the South by Southwest conference back in March, we received some great feedback from the media:

• Half A Billion Blog Posts Later, Google To Give Blogger A Revamp
• Google’s Blogger Is About to Get an Overhaul

Today, we're thrilled to announce the public launch of our redesign! But please wait a second before you go check out your Blogger dashboard, because we’re planning a gradual rollout that will start with a limited set of users who visit our new feature testing ground, Blogger in Draft. At the start, only some of you (lucky draws!) can see the new design on Blogger in Draft. Over the course of the next few days and weeks we’ll be ramping up to support all Draft users. There is no sign-up or activation process required from your side; just wait, and you’ll notice your dashboard has changed to the new design when you log in to Blogger in Draft. 

Although our team has been hard at work cranking out tons of new features over the last year or so, it’s been a while since our user interface has had a major update so we’re very excited about Blogger’s fresh new look. However, there’s much more to the redesign than shiny new graphics and pages—we’ve essentially rewritten the entire application from scratch, using the latest web technologies that will enable us to make future updates in more agile and flexible ways.

We decided to make the new UI available to our loyal Blogger users as quickly as possible. We realize there might be some ‘rough edges’ (see this page for the known issues) but fear not, we’ll be continually updating and improving the experience until it’s ready to graduate from Blogger in Draft. Our team is also very eager to hear your feedback, so please don’t hesitate to let us know of any bugs or suggestions by clicking on the “Send feedback” link in the navigation bar (or directly on this form).

This is only the beginning of many exciting updates that we’re planning for Blogger this year, so stay tuned!

CO-WASHING

Hi ll,
Co-washing is a technique used when ONLY conditioner is used to cleanse and condition the hair. Conditioner is used in place of shampoo the first go round and it's used as conditioner the second go round. Natural hair is already drier than relaxed hair so we need to maintain as much moisture as possible. Lots of shampoos have an ingredient in it called SLS (which I did a post on) which contributes to drying the hair out. Some recommend 6-8 weeks between every shampoo, others may say 3-4 weeks. I say use your judgement. If you use a lot of products in your hair you may feel the need to shampoo more often. If you feel and/or see the product buildup on your hair, you need to shampoo. Also when you do shampoo, you should be using a SLS free shampoo.
The benefits of co-washing is MOISTURE and MANAGEABILITY!!!!!
So go stock up on your conditioners...One of my favorite conditioners is Pantene for Women of color (in the brown bottle). It's inexpensive and gets the job done.
LATA,

4 1/2 MONTH UPDATE ON MY BALD SPOTS

Hello all,
 I just want to give you guys and update on my bald spots that I presumed came from stress. I went to my primary care doctor first to see if she can diagnose me. She basically feed off of everything I told her and the end result was referring me to the dermatologist and a psychiatrist lol. I never made the appointment to speak with the psychiatrist but I went to the dermatologist. They did a strand test to rule out fungus, so they ended up telling me it was a case of alopecia (which is just a general term for  loss of hair). The doctor suggested I start getting a monthly cortisone injection right in the spots where the hair is lost. This is supposed to regrow the hair. I was told the time frame would range anywhere from 5-9 months before you see growth.
I still am not really sure to this day what caused the bald spots but I've been told by several people that had stress spots that the hair will grow back on it's own. After 3 injections, I took it upon myself to stop getting them and wait for my hair to grow back on its own. I really don't like taking medicine and/or injections...I'm more into doing things naturally. So, I cancelled my last dermatologist appointment and I'm gonna wait for my hair to regrow on it's own. It's going on 5 months and I still don't see any growth.
Here is an updated picture of my scalp...ugh!

Dietary cholesterol is not the heart killer, say docs

Mumbai: If you shunned meat because its cholesterol content could adversely affect your heart, you were wrong. If you felt an egg a day is unhealthy, think again. New nutrition guidelines released in the US say that cholesterolrich food—be it an egg, meat or milk—is not a recipe for a health disaster. The problem arises when cholesterol-containing foods are eaten along with foods that are high in saturated fats: Eggs eaten along with sausages and butter-dripping toast could be an issue.      Americans have been avoiding dietary cholesterol for the fear of increasing their risk of heart disease. "But there is nothing to show a relationship between increased dietary cholesterol intake and incidence of coronary heart disease,'' say researchers.      Nutritionist Shilpa Joshi says: "The body produces the bulk of its cholesterol needs. And it's only a meagre 200-300 milligrams of cholesterol-containing food that one needs to take in.'' The problem arises when unsaturated fat is eaten in excess. "When excess of saturated fat is eaten, the liver tends to convert some into cholesterol that leads to the beginning of heart disease,'' said cardiologist Dr A B Mehta.      Endocrinologist Dr Anoop Misra says Indian foods like parathas and puris dripping in ghee contribute so much unsaturated fat that it is converted into cholesterol. "Lay persons always make a mistake between cholesterol and fat. They would willingly buy oil that claims to have zero cholesterol but has high saturated fats,'' says Misra.      Then there is the genetic factor. Mehta adds, "There will always be a person who has a heavy cholesterol count but a healthy heart.There could be a person with low cholesterol who develops heart disease.'' He blames this on the 'permeability factor' that entrenches the bad cholesterol along arterial walls, creating plaque.      Diet plays an important role. As fast food culture catches on, there is a corresponding rise in heart diseases, say doctors. The healthy mantra is : Keep out the fat and not necessarily the dietary cholesterol.  Trans fats are more deadly  CHOLESTEROL is a waxy, fat-like substance that is found in every body cell. It helps the body produce hormones, Vitamin D and even aids digestion  DELICATE BALANCE |  The body produces 85% of the cholesterol it needs. Only a tiny proportion of outside supplements are needed. The cholesterol balance in blood is so delicate that it can get tipped any moment. Extra cholesterol in the blood lines up along the arteries as plaque, eventually leading to heart disease THE PROBLEM | Most people ) believe that avoiding food rich in cholesterol is a way of keeping the heart healthy. But doctors say that this dietary cholesterol may not be a cause for worry. Saturated fat is the main villain. It gets deposited in the liver and is converted into bad cholesterol that leads to heart problems  Cholesterol-free labels are misleading: Foods with saturated fat or trans fats (even cooking oils) claim they contain zero cholesterol, but they are a bigger threat to your heart and arteries than foods with a little cholesterol and less saturated fat  Trans fats raises LDL or "bad" cholesterol levels and lowers HDL or the "good cholesterol". It is found in partially hydrogenated oils but is being phased out

Drinking over recommended limit 'raises cancer risk'

Comments (349)

Many people do not know that drinking alcohol can increase their cancer risk.

Continue reading the main story

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Drinking more than a pint of beer a day can substantially increase the risk of some cancers, research suggests.

The Europe-wide study of 363,988 people reported in the British Medical Journal found one in 10 of all cancers in men and one in 33 in women were caused by past or current alcohol intake.

More than 18% of alcohol-related cancers in men and about 4% in women were linked to excessive drinking.

The Department of Health said it was taking action to reduce drinking.

Cancer charities say people should limit their drinking to lower the risk.

The study calculated that in 2008 current and past drinking habits were responsible for about 13,000 cancer cases in the UK, out of a total of 304,000 cases.

Previous research has shown a link between alcohol consumption and cancers of the oesophagus, liver, bowel and female breast.

When alcohol is broken down by the body it produces a chemical which can damage DNA, increasing the chance of developing cancer.

Glass too far

The latest research found that individuals who drank more than two standard drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women were particularly at risk of alcohol-related cancers.

Click to play

Dr Kat Arney, Cancer Research UK: "The more you drink, the greater the risk"

A standard drink contains about 12g of alcohol, which is equivalent to a 125ml glass of wine or a half pint of beer.

Yet NHS guidelines are a little more relaxed, saying that men should drink no more than three to four units a day while women should not go above two to three units a day.

Of the cancers known to be linked to alcohol, the researchers suggest that 40% to 98% occurred in people who drank more than the recommended maximum.

The results were gathered as part of a study following 363,988 men and women in eight European countries aged between 35 and 70.

The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer study tracked their levels of drinking and how this affected their risk of cancer.

Researchers then looked at figures on how much people drank in each country, including the UK, taken from the World Health Organization.

The study focused on France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany, Denmark and the UK.

Madlen Schutze, lead researcher and study author, from the German Institute of Human Nutrition, said that many cancer cases could be avoided if alcohol consumption was limited.

"And even more cancer cases would be prevented if people reduced their alcohol intake to below recommended guidelines or stopped drinking alcohol at all," she said.

'Best data'

Cancer Research UK director of health information Sara Hiom said that many people did not know that drinking alcohol could increase their cancer risk.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

I think there will have to be some form of tougher regulation by government"

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore UK Alcohol Health Alliance

"In the last 10 years, mouth cancer has become much more common and one reason for this could be because of higher levels of drinking - as this study reflects.

"Along with being a non-smoker and keeping a healthy bodyweight, cutting back on alcohol is one of the most important ways of lowering your cancer risk."

Cancer Partners UK medical director Prof Karol Sikora said the message had to be "drink occasionally, but not regularly".

"This is the best data we've got and we're ever likely to get.

"The take-home message is that the more alcohol you drink, some of the common cancers - the four cancers that have been identified - do increase, and that's worrying. So the message has to be 'look at drinking habits, and reduce.'"

The Department of Health is set to publish an alcohol strategy in the summer.

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, former president of the Royal College of Physicians and chairman of the UK Alcohol Health Alliance, called for tougher regulation to curb alcohol consumption.

He told the BBC: "It is yet another piece of evidence that really leads us to conclude that sitting back and waiting for people to change their habits, perhaps with voluntary partnerships with the drinks industry included in policies, will not bring about results.

"If we really want to see preventable deaths coming down in the next decade or so, I think there will have to be some form of tougher regulation by government."

It is expected to include plans to stop supermarkets selling cheap alcohol and tighten up licensing laws which were relaxed under the previous government.

Over 40,000 pledge support on Facebook

NEW DELHI: The public movement against corruption initiated by Gandhian leader Anna Hazare has become a rage among netizens. The Facebook page created by the group has registered over 40,000 followers in one day, while more than seven lakh people from across the country have pledged support to the cause through mobile phone registration. According to activist Arvind Kejriwal, a leading campaigner for the movement against corruption, the response from youngsters in particular is enormous.

"The social media is abuzz with our movement against corruption. Thousands of people from across the country are contacting us through Facebook and Twitter. In at least 400 cities, youngsters are continuously joining in to help us with the logistics ," said Kejriwal. He said on Wednesday, students from several Delhi colleges and universities among others joined the agitation. "In the US, Australia and several other countries, Indians are joining in, to support the public movement against corruption ," Kejriwal added.

On the Facebook page, minute by minute updates on Anna's messages, support to the cause from different sections of the society and government's response to the same are posted. "It is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of India - a freedom struggle for freedom from corruption," posted one Asha Singh on Facebook.

Anna Hazare told Times City that the positive response and active participation by so many youngsters is incredible. "It will help us make the country clean of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. When I see the young faces and go through the messages of support posted by them through different social networking sites and other communication media, it really heartens me. It fills me with more energy and enthusiasm to carry on the crusade against corruption," he said.

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and cricketer Kapil Dev have also pledged support to the cause. Khan wrote to the Prime Minister on Wednesday, requesting him to agree to the legitimate demand of Anna. "I am one of over a billion citizens of this country, who is affected by and most concerned about corruption...I request you to pay heed to the voice of Anna Hazare in appreciation for what he is fighting for," reads the letter. The actor said he went through the Internet to read about the Jan Lokpal Bill and agrees with its recommendations.