The Hindu              30.11.2013 

HDMC launches cleanliness drive in 13 wards

Following complaints about the lack of cleanliness in the twin cities, the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation(HDMC) on Friday launched a cleanliness drive, which will be taken up in various wards on every Friday.

On the first day of the drive; waste disposal, de-silting of open drains, sweeping of roads and spraying of pesticides were taken up in 13 wards.

HDMC Commissioner Ramandeep Chowdhary supervised the drive and advised officials and civic servants on work to be taken up. Around 150 pourakarmikas were involved in the drive. As per a decision taken in a meeting chaired by the Municipal Commissioner on Thursday, the cleanliness drive will be conducted in select wards of the twin cities every Friday. Priority will be given to those areas where a large quantity of garbage has accumulated. The corporation has appealed to residents to call the round-the-clock helpline of the municipal corporation to lodge their complaints on garbage.

On Friday, a cleanliness drive was conducted in localities of ward 1, 3, 11, 19, 23, 30, 35, 36, 41, 45, 47, 61 and 63.

On Thursday, the municipal corporation had decided to set up a special task force to oversee the cleaning works in the wake of several complaints from residents. The meeting decided to conduct the drive in select areas every week, after getting suggestions from residents and council members. It was decided to clean parks in select areas and report back to the solid waste management section on the same day.

The Times of India          29.11.2013

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to take on lifestyle diseases with central funds

AHMEDABAD: In order to spruce up urban health centers in the city, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has been promised a grant of Rs 45 crore in the coming year by the central government. The focus of the AMC would be improving facilities at the centres and capacity building of its medical staff to deal with lifestyle and non-communicable diseases.

The AMC plans to set up 18 additional urban health and community health centers. The place for at least seven health centers has been earmarked, claim AMC officials. The AMC department requires more than 60 staff nurses and pharmacists. Besides, the civic body also plans to increase the number of nursing homes from nine to 15. "We would be introducing more sonography machines and even facilities for performing complex pregnancy-related surgeries. The Union government funds will largely address these issues," claims a senior AMC official.

Apart from this, major emphasis will be on treating lifestyle diseases. The AMC is also training its existing doctors to detect cancers in its initial stages - especially cervical and breast cancers. In addition, the doctors will also be trained to detect early symptoms of heart attacks, diabetes and hypertension. The first batch of AMC doctors will be sent for training at Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai.

A recent survey of slums in the city by AMC found that a considerable number of people suffer from lifestyle diseases. Of the 1.2 lakh men and women screened, the survey found that 16% were on the brink of becoming diabetic. "As far as the cancer training is concerned the Gujarat Cancer Research Institute (GCRI) had offered to conduct workshops for our health personnel," an official said.