Blood available online now in Hyderabad

To curb black marketing of blood the State government's health department has decided to put online, details of the availability of blood.

AP AIDS Control Society (APSacs) website will have the information on blood availability of various blood banks in the State updated every day.

APSacs director Ashok Kumar said, "We have started the exercise of giving information on the website www.apsacs.org."

He said, "Initially we started with Hyderabad where the blood bank has to update the information of various blood groups avalable. Blood from rare groups is sold at high prices in the black market and the website this will help to prevent that" Commercial blood banks are collecting high price for the rare blood groups ranging above Rs 1,000 per a blood bag. As per the Drug Control Administration rules they have to display the rate card in the reception area of blood banks.

Hyderabad, Nizamabad, Vishakapatnam blood banks are updating the blood availability details. Initially only a few blood banks are sending the information to APSacs.

"Even doctors can plan operations as per the availability of the blood banks in their areas by seeing the blood status in the web site. We will see that all the blood banks mandatory take up this," said Mr Ashok Kumar.

Meanwhile, State Blood Transfusion Council that met on Monday evening has set up a sub committee to frame the guidelines for granting and renewing the licenses to the blood banks in the State.

Mr Ashok Kumar said, "New guidelines are being framed for blood banks. We are discussing details like which type of hospitals should have an attached blood bank."

Online access to Hindi films delights film buffs

Log on to rajshriproductions.com and you will come across India’s first web portal that allows you to watch the latest Shahid Kapur and Amrita Rao venture Vivah online. The film’s premiere on the net coincided with its release across theatres. Mainly aimed at the NRI and foreigners, any one can watch Vivah on the payment of $10 with a limited 72-hour license.

“If you do not watch the film within 72 hours then you will have to pay another $10 to watch the film,” says Rajshri Media Pvt. Ltd, managing director Rajat A. Barjatya.

But did they consider that allowing access to their film on the net would eat into their business in India?

“All mediums can co-exist simultaneously. The main purpose of premiering Vivah on the net was for those who did not live near a theatre that releases Hindi films. If someone from Scandinavia or Japan wanted to watch the film, he or she could do so on the net,” points out Barjatya.

He agrees that those with access to a theatre might not want to watch the film on the net. “The impact would be ruined! Can a PC replace the big screen euphoria?” he asks.

“Every medium, whether it is the theatre or the net, has its pros and cons. Our main purpose is to touch every nook and corner of the globe,” says Barjatya.

Echoing Barjatya’s opinion Rajesh Johri an avid film fan says, “I think the magic of watching the film in the theatre is something else. It leaves an impact on you which I don’t think a film watched on a computer would.” But for someone like Bhavit Parekh who keeps a close watch on his expenditure, watching the film on the net is cheap and falls within his budget.

“At a cost of Rs 450 my entire family can watch the film. I know it becomes slightly inconvenient as far as theseating arrangements are concerned but we somehow manage and I think this technology has turned to be a blessing for people like me,” he says.

While one could say that Rajshri Productions is the first to premiere their Hindi film on the net, Eros Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, the largest distributor of Hindi films in the UK, USA, UAE, Australia and New Zealand have already launched a portal beondemand.com that offers films online for its viewers.

Also, Eros Entertainment boasts of a library with the largest collection of Hindi films.

“If you log on to beondemand.com, you will see the list of Hindi films that it offers. You could watch the film by paying as little as three dollars per view,” informs a staffer.

He adds, “The time period within which the viewer has to watch the film depends on the film that he has chosen. A film that’s very old may have more than a week’s license to be watched. It may not be the same for a new film. In fact, the time frame for watching a new film is kept as short as possible.” While one can watch films on rajshriproductions.com and beondemand.com legally, there are websites like bulbule.com that allow you to not only watch but also download latest releases like Don and Jaan-E-Maan for absolutely free. In fact, this reporter even saw portions of Don on the net.

So much for the efforts made by the film industry to curb piracy!