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Public Health / Sanitation

Special cleanliness drive in twin cities

Wednesday, 15 July 2009 08:14 administrator
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The Hindu 15.07.2009

Special cleanliness drive in twin cities

Staff Correspondent

It will begin from the slums in the next two days

HUBLI: Mayor Viranna Savadi on Tuesday announced that a special cleanliness drive, beginning from the slums, would be taken up in all wards of the twin cities in the next two days.

The Mayor made this announcement after heated discussions on the issue of lack of cleanliness at a special general body meeting of the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation.

The Mayor said that there were 115 personnel in the Health Department of the corporation and they would be deployed for the special cleanliness drive in each ward for three to four days.

The drive would be completed by August-end, he said.

The Mayor ruled that the work of the contractors looking after solid waste management in the twin cities would be subjected to a third party inspection in the wake of complaints of poor maintenance.

He said along with the cleanliness drive, there would be an awareness campaign in all the localities.

Earlier in the meeting, corporators cutting across party lines took the officials to task for “negligence” in maintaining cleanliness in the twin cities. Senior corporators from the Bharatiya Janata Party Pandurang Patil and Ashok Jadhav, Congress corporators Deepak Chinchore, Ganesh Tagargunti, Janata Dal (Secular) corporators Hazrat Ali Dodmani and Saroja Patil criticised the functioning of the Health Department of the corporation.

They said that the officials of the Health Department did not act while dengue, chikungunya and other diseases were spreading fast in the corporation limits.

They launched “precautionary measures” only a few days ago, the corporators said.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 July 2009 08:16
 

BMC sanitary workers to protest privatisation move

Sunday, 12 July 2009 11:54 administrator
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The Hindu 12.07.2009

BMC sanitary workers to protest privatisation move

Staff Reporter

Talks between the leaders of the BMMKS and Mayor, BMC fail

BMC says it is prepared to face the agitation of sanitary workers

BERHAMPUR: The sanitary workers of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation have decided to take up the path of agitation to protest against attempts to privatise cleaning in parts of the city.

The decision to take up agitation was taken at a meeting of the Berhampur Municipality Mehentar Karmachari Sangh (BMMKS) held on Saturday evening. The BMMKS happens to be the union of sanitary workers working under the BMC. As per Sukant Mukhi, a leader of the union, they have around 850 members, which includes both regular and temporary sanitary workers employed by the BMC. Mr Mukhi said they are working out the details of their agitation plan.

The BMC has decided to hand over cleaning of nine wards to private parties. It had called up tenders from parties for it. The BMMKS activists had held demonstration in the BMC office premises on Friday while the tender bids were being opened. The talks between the leaders of the BMMKS with Mayor Siba Shankar Das and in charge Commissioner of BMC Bhima Manseth also failed.

The Mayor and the Commissioner were of the opinion that they had to opt for privatisation of cleaning of wards as most corporators were of the view that the existing sanitary workers were failing in their duties. The BMMKS members demanded appointment of more sanitary workers rather than opting for privatisation. Mr Manseth said privatisation is not new in Orissa’s urban bodies. In Sambalpur, cleaning process in 29 wards had been privatised. Most corporators alleged that the sanitary workers of the municipality were using other persons in their place through payment of small amounts. “If sanitary workers can hand over their work to others on contract then why not the BMC opt for privatisation through contract which would have accountability,” corporators like K.K.Mishra said.

The BMC authorities said they were prepared to face the agitation of the sanitary workers as they had the support of the general public who were disgusted with the lack of sanitation in the city. Cleaning of four markets in the city has been already privatised. The wards where cleaning has been privatised by the BMC are ward numbers 10, 13, 14, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 35.

Last Updated on Sunday, 12 July 2009 11:56
 

Can India follow West in saying no to bottled water?

Thursday, 09 July 2009 10:57 administrator
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Source: The Economic Times Date : 09.07.2009

Can India follow West in saying no to bottled water?

SYDNEY: Residents of a rural Australian town hoping to protect the earth and their wallets have voted to ban the sale of bottled water, the first

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community in the country _ and possibly the world _ to take such a drastic step in the growing backlash against the industry.

Residents of Bundanoon cheered after their near-unanimous approval of the measure at a town meeting Wednesday. It was the second blow to Australia's beverage industry in one day: Hours earlier, the New South Wales state premier banned all state departments and agencies from buying bottled water, calling it a waste of money and natural resources.

``I have never seen 350 Australians in the same room all agreeing to something,'' said Jon Dee, who helped spearhead the ``Bundy on Tap'' campaign in Bundanoon, a town of 2,500 about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Sydney. ``It's time for people to realize they're being conned by the bottled water industry.''

First popularized in the 1980s as a convenient, healthy alternative to sugary drinks, bottled water today is often criticized as an environmental menace, with bottles cluttering landfills and requiring large amounts of energy to produce and transport.

Over the past few years, at least 60 cities in the United States and a handful of others in Canada and the United Kingdom have agreed to stop spending taxpayer dollars on bottled water, which is often consumed during city meetings, said Deborah Lapidus, organizer of Corporate Accountability International's ``Think Outside the Bottle'' campaign in the U.S.

But the Boston-based nonprofit corporate watchdog has never heard of a community banning the sale of bottled water, she said.

``I think what this town is doing is taking it one step further and recognizing that there's safe drinking water coming out of our taps,'' she said.

Bundanoon's battle against the bottle has been brewing for years, ever since a Sydney-based beverage company announced plans to build a water extraction plant in the town. Residents were furious over the prospect of an outsider taking their water, trucking it up to Sydney for processing and then selling it back to them. The town is still fighting the company's proposal in court.

Then in March, Huw Kingston, who owns the town's combination cafe and bike shop, had a thought: If the town was so against hosting a water bottling company, why not ban the end product?

To prevent lost profit in the 10-or-so town businesses that sell bottled water, Kingston suggested they instead sell reusable bottles for about the same price. Residents will be able to fill the bottles for free at public water fountains, or pay a small fee to fill them with filtered water kept in the stores.

Last Updated on Friday, 10 December 2010 07:26
 
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