Kochiites are caught in a strange predicament; terribly hot and humid days and sleepless nights. The mosquito menace is testing the patience of people as these buzzing blood suckers spare no one. Even those who live in high rises have no reprieve from mosquitoes. The residents of apartments in the city say that mosquitoes have found an easy entry to top floors through lifts. And once they make an entry it is not quite easy to smoke them away. Many homemakers complain that mosquitoes seem to have developed immunity to repellents.

People in offices are also not spared by mosquitoes which can spread many diseases.

Since the air-conditioned cubicles do not have any air vents they can use only repellents in the form of creams. Even during this time of price rise people are forced to spend a considerable amount on repellents.

But the Corporation is yet to curb this issue.

The city is filled with filthy and clogged canals and drains which breed mosquitoes. But the authorities say that they have taken all precautionary measures to tackle the menace.

“Fogging has been intensified in all parts of the city. Canal cleaning and mass cleaning work are fast progressing,” said health standing committee chairman N A Mani. When asked about the clogged drains he said that the councillor of the locality should take up the responsibility.

The people also contribute to this menace to a certain extent by dumping waste on vacant plots and even in canals. The authorities claim that they have done everything in their capacity to curb the breeding of mosquitoes, but people in the city still suffer from bites.

Waste woes continue

The waste management issue continues to haunt the city despite the Corporation launching the solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram.

The recent fire mishap at the Brahmapuram plant made things worse. In the wake of rising complaints against the plant, the Kochi Corporation decided to assign the Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation (KITCO) and the Centre for Environment and Development (CED) for making temporary arrangements for treating waste at the plant.

“Waste management is not just the Corporation’s problem, it is a civic issue. To solve it we need the co-operation of the people,” said Mayor Mercy Williams. As the Corporation does not have its own workforce for door-to-door collection of waste, the civic body had recently tied up with Sree Sakthi Paper Mills Ltd and ITC Ltd to launch a project, ‘Battle for Waste Recovery’. The project envisages doorto- door collection of waste, including old newspapers and other waste papers, plastic products besides metallic waste.

“We have already implemented the project in some of the divisions in the city. Soon it will be launched in other wards too.

Once the project gathers momentum we will be able to solve the garbage menace to a certain extent,” the Mayor said.

Kochi Corporation, in association with CREDAI and BPCL Kochi Refinery, had set up plastic shredding units in a private-publicpartnership (PPP) mode to counter plastic menace in the city.

But plastic waste and stinking garbage continue to pile up in the city. The reasons behind the garbage menace can be attributed to four major factors- lack of public awareness and participation in waste management programmes, inappropriate legislation, lack of strong technical support and inadequate funding.

Most of all everyone should have a proper understanding of waste management issues without which even the best conceived waste management plan will not work.

No escape from heat

Kochi is becoming hotter by the day.

This may be an indicator of hot days ahead. It is as if we have reached the height of summer when it is only the beginning.

The missing greenery in the city is an alarming factor. For the authorities, planting a sapling on Environment Day is just a ritual. In reality it won’t even last for a month, thanks to the kind of attention meted out to them. The weather chart indicates that temperature is on the rise in India since 1970. The Indian Meteorological Department had declared 2009 as the hottest year in the last 100 years. Kochi being a coastal city is bearing the brunt of hot sea winds.

Roadside tender coconut vendors and watermelon sellers have already started doing brisk business which shows that heat has become unbearable for the people in the city.

On the lips of every Kochiite there seem to be only one wish, ‘Rain gods, have mercy upon us’.

Thirsty city

Be it summer or monsoon, water is a burning issue in Kochi.

During summer the city is plagued by water scarcity and during the monsoon it has no escape from water logging.

Scarcity of drinking water has hit many parts of the city like West Kochi areas, Palluruthy, Elamakkara and Tripunithura.

Recently, when a leakage in the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) pipeline aggravated the scarcity of potable water Vypeen residents took to the streets. After five days’ protest the authorities adopted some temporary measures to bring water to these places. But the authorities are yet to come up with a lasting solu- tion.

The city is depending on water pumped from the Periyar at Aluva for its needs. The pump house at Aluva now pumps and filters 15 percent more than its total capacity of 225 mld. It is enough to meet only up to 40 percent of the requirement of Kochi.

The JNNURM project proposes to bring 200 mld of water from Muvattupuzha river at Pazhoor. But the project is yet to take off due to hindrances in land acquisition. According to KWA officials, the tender procedures are over and the work can start without delay.

It is a pity that the authorities are not taking any initiative to tap the water resources of small rivers like Kadambrayar flowing in the suburbs of Kochi. If treated properly the water from the river will be enough to meet the requirements of the nearby panchayats.

Give us power!

Summer has already started giving you sleepless nights. Imagine a power failure in the middle of the night. You will start cursing the KSEB. And if you try to contact the KSEB office you will either get a lukewarm response or no response at all. Finally you will be resigned to your fate with mosquitoes for company.

Every Kochiite will have many such harrowing experiences to share. “During a power failure it is difficult to stay indoors. We cannot rely on the KSEB for uninterrupted power supply. Whenever we call the KSEB office, the officials say that power will be restored in half an hour but usually it takes long hours,” said Rajesh, a resident of Edappally.

But KSEB (distribution) chief engineer D S Girija Devi begs to differ. “Trouble call management systems are active in many parts of the city. During an emergency they will be pressed into action for uninterrupted power supply,” she said. She added that power disruptions can be avoided totally only if the ring main system, which interconnects sub stations, is completed. “Even then there will be minor disruptions in power supply due to line maintenance which we regularly carry out before the onset of monsoon,” she said. There are also reports that the State Government is planning to impose some regulations soon due to the shortage of power supply. Looks like Kochiites have no escape from power failures.

Sorry, no milk

With the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Society threatening to cut down milk supply to Kerala, milk distributors in the city are left in the lurch. Most vendors in the city give only a limited number of milk packets to customers. “We supply Milma, PDDP and Nilgiris.

Milma now always gives only half the quantity we need. So for the past weeks we have been depending on PDDP,” says Sony Thomas of WellMart. “So far there has been no shortage of PDDP milk,” he says. The proprietor of Varkey’s supermarket also says that the milk supply for the past one month has not been adequate.

“Earlier some customers would buy up to 12 packets at a time as a result of which there would be none left for those who come later,” he says.

“Now we ration the supply and give only four packets at a time.

But still there are complaints from customers.” Supermarket proprietors say that they have not received any intimation from milk suppliers about the shortage. Most customers say that they prefer milk from Milma but they have to do with other brands which are not up to the mark. It was in early 2007 that the state faced such an acute shortage of milk. During that time, the Tamil Nadu Government had stopped its supply to Kerala and the state had to turn to Maharashtra.