The Hindu 18.02.2014
Health squads promised in all Kochi Corporation divisions
Five-member-strong health squads will tackle public health issues in each Kochi corporation division, if an announcement of the civic authorities materialises.
The annual budget of the corporation has envisioned the formation of such squads. The service of the squads will be available for 200 days during the current fiscal. The squads will focus on health issues identified and suggested by the local councillor.
The functioning of the squads will be subject to social auditing and a public committee will oversee its operations. The squads will also be responsible for cleaning up minor drains in the divisions. With the formation of the squads, the local body would do away with the age-old system of awarding the job to contractors. On an average, the local body spends around Rs. 4 crore for cleaning and de-silting city drains. The squads would do the job in an effective and economic way, said Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany.
The health squads would get a budgetary support of Rs. 3 crore.
The civic administrators are planning to give shape to an action plan for controlling the breeding of mosquitoes in the city. The action plan, which will be formulated with the support of the State government and vector control experts, will focus on controlling the pest menace at its breeding grounds. A specialised wing for pest control and a mosquito control research lab will also be added to the city administration, according to the budget announcement.
The local body has earmarked Rs. 10 crore for mosquito eradication and garbage removal measures.
In her speech, the Deputy Mayor said the city was free of water logging despite Kochi receiving excessive rain during the last monsoon. This was possible, according to her, due to the effective cleaning and dredging of canals. The task of de-silting canals will continue and flying squads of the local body would be asked to monitor the flow of canals and to identify those who are dumping waste in them. The restoration and cleaning up of canals would get a budgetary allocation of Rs. 5 crore, she announced.
