The Hindu          31.10.2014  

Corporation’s software for malaria management gets a boost

The Mangalore City Corporation’s proposal of having a dedicated software to assist in malaria management has received a boost with a society coming forward to bear the production cost. At the same time, three IT companies have agreed to provide technical and logistical support, said Mayor Mahabala Marla.

While Mangalore Medical Relief Society has come forward to sponsor the production cost, Infosys, I-Point and Code Craft Technologies Pvt. Ltd. have agreed to provide the technical and logistical support, the Mayor said.

Placing an order for the development of software otherwise would have cost the civic body about Rs. 20 lakh. Now its production might cost Rs. 5 lakh, which would be borne by the society.

An official in charge of malaria management at the civic body said the IT companies would provide office space, computers and training for programmers. The society would bear the salary of team members and other funds. It might take about five months to develop software.

Explaining how software would assist in malaria management, the official said that when malaria positive cases were reported – from hospitals, laboratories or from people – the case details would be uploaded to the computer using the software. Multipurpose workers of the civic body would visit the spot with a tablet equipped with GPS (global positioning system) technology. They would upload the photographs of nearby breeding places as well as the spot from where the cases reported. The software would display a list of measures to be taken and a map of area from where it reported. Accordingly, medical facilities would be arranged and steps to contain breeding of mosquitoes would be taken.

The software would maintain a database of cases and measures taken step by step. If the measures are not initiated it would also be displayed. Officials such as the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioners and elected representatives of the corporation such as Mayor, standing committee heads would have access to the software.

The software would get public interface through social media such as Facebook. The official said post-software management and maintenance might cost the MCC Rs. 15 lakh for two years.

Proposal gets financial and technical support

The Hindu        30.10.2014  

Municipal bodies plan post-Chhath clean up

With thousands gathering on the banks of the Yamuna across Delhi to celebrate Chhath, municipal corporations are getting ready to clean up after the rituals.

The festival will conclude with people standing in the river to make offerings of fruit and food to the sun by 8 a.m. on Thursday. After that, the job of the municipal corporations and the Delhi Government’s Irrigation and Flood Control Department will start.

According to municipal officials, the Irrigation Department cleans the shallow parts of the river and deposits the waste at the banks, which is then lifted by the civic body. “Our sanitation workers and trucks will be at the banks by Thursday afternoon to start the cleaning,” said North Corporation spokesperson Y.S. Mann. The Corporation had put up temporary garbage bins along the ghats during the festival to keep littering at the minimum.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation, which has three ghats under its jurisdiction, will deploy sanitation workers along the banks on Thursday.