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Public Health / Sanitation

Rain is back, so are water-logged roads and traffic jams

Wednesday, 28 July 2010 09:02 administrator
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The Hindu      28.07.2010

Rain is back, so are water-logged roads and traffic jams

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: With the rain returning to lash the Capital after a brief dry spell on Monday, mild water-logging was reported from several parts of the Capital on Tuesday.

According to the Meteorological Department, the city received a total of 2.7 mm of rainfall on Monday.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi control room received 25 complaints of water-logging, one complaint of tree falling and two complaints of portions of buildings collapsing. The maximum number of complaints was received from the City and Civil Lines zones which received a total of seven complaints each. The areas affected due to water-logging included Vishwas Nagar, Punjabi Bagh, Pusa Road roundabout, near Chhattrasal Stadium, Azadpur Mandi, Yamuna Bazaar and near Hanuman Mandir.

Meanwhile, the rain coupled with some problem with the Delhi Metro railway during the afternoon caused traffic snarls at several places across the city. There was slow-moving traffic at ITO, Vikas Marg, Connaught Place, Rafi Marg and even Ring Road and Outer Righ Road.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Satyendra Garg said: “After a fire incident was reported at Rajiv Chowk metro station around 12 noon, emergency vehicles including over 20 fire tenders, quick reaction teams and local police were rushed to the spot and their movement given precedence. This situation was further compounded owing to rain slowing down the traffic movement.”

“As it takes time to clear out vehicles in an emergency, it made traffic management difficult forcing us to put in place two diversions in Connaught Place to reduce congestion. As Connaught Place is already under renovation, lack of space added to the pressure on traffic movement,” he added.

According to Mr. Garg, diversions were put at Barakhamba Road and Janpath for traffic out of Connaught Place towards Mandi House and Windsor Palace respectively. “Traffic jams in CP prevailed from 12 noon to around 6-30 p.m. after which the situation eased,” he added.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 28 July 2010 09:04
 

GHMC's ultimatum to Selco

Wednesday, 28 July 2010 08:44 administrator
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The Hindu      28.07.2010

GHMC's ultimatum to Selco

Special Correspondent

Issues final notice to the company for immediate clearance of dues

Hyderabad: The GHMC seems to have given up on its first ‘garbage to power' plant, Selco. It has issued a supposedly final notice to the company for immediate clearance of the dues pertaining to royalty payment and lease rent amounting to more than Rs. 1.22 crore.

Rejecting the explanations given by Selco management, Municipal Corporation officials of the Health and Sanitation Department have warned that any further delay in payment of the dues will lead to approaching the government to take necessary action.

Contract reached

Selco was reminded that it had to pay Rs. 10 per tonne with interest for supply of municipal solid waste and already it had to pay Rs. 1.09 crore for utilising the garbage of 400 tonnes a day as per the contract between March 2004 and August 2009.

Non-payment will attract 18 per cent interest per annum to be calculated weekly, it said in a communication to the firm few days ago. Selco was also told that a balance of Rs. 13.15 lakh has to be paid for the pending rent dues for the 10-acre land at Gandhamguda village in Ranga Reddy district. Rent was calculated at 5 per cent the value of the latest registration charge

As per the agreement entered between erstwhile MCH and Selco in 1999, the company should utilise 400 tonnes of garbage daily.

By using this garbage, the firm was generating nearly six MW of power daily and selling it to AP Transco. Since 2000, the firm paid Rs. 10 lakh as rent to the corporation of the total Rs 23 lakh dues. Sources said Selco had stopped generating power for the past eight months besides defaulting on rent payment for the last four years.

“Since January 2008 Selco started reducing utilisation of garbage before totally closing the plant eight months ago,” an official of the health wing of the GHMC said.

Burden on GHMC

Officials say if 400 tonnes of garbage is not utilised productively, it will be a burden on the corporation to transport the waste from various stations to the dumping yard at Jawaharnagar and dispose it in a scientific manner.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 28 July 2010 08:45
 

Court clears way for MCD to buy chemical for dengue prevention

Tuesday, 27 July 2010 10:54 administrator
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Indian Express    27.07.2010

Court clears way for MCD to buy chemical for dengue prevention

Utkarsh Anand Tags : MCD dengue prevention case, delhi Posted: Tue Jul 27 2010, 01:19 hrs

New Delhi:  The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which is facing difficulties in procuring an adequate amount of biolarvicide to combat the threat of rising cases of dengue, got a breather from the Delhi High Court on Monday as it dismissed a petition against the civic body’s contract to purchase the medicines.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Manmohan dismissed the plea filed last month by Sumitomo Chemical India Private Ltd, alleging irregularities in the manner its bid was rejected and the contract granted to another company.

The matter related to the procurement of biolarvicides for this season by the MCD, which gets its required lot through Hindustan Latex Ltd (now HLL Lifecare Ltd) — its procurement agency.

fter the Bench stayed the execution of the contract till the final disposal of the matter, the MCD had approached the court seeking temporary relaxation in procurement of biolarvicide for an interim period in the “interest of public health”.

The agency had claimed it was left with “no stock of the required biolarvicide, as a result of which it is feeling handicapped in taking preventive action to combat the threat of outbreak of dengue and malaria”.

The MCD was compelled to use another chemical larvicide, Temephos, which is not as effective as biolarvicides, especially to prevent mosquito breeding in drains.

Comprehending the urgency, the Bench had granted temporary reprieve to the MCD and the medicines were allowed to be procured in limited number.

On Monday, the Bench dismissed the Sumitomo’s petition after upholding the HLL’s submission that the company did not fulfill the requisite criteria for entertaining its bid. 

“Judged from both the spectrums, it is clear as noon day that the petitioner did not satisfy the requisite/essential conditions and the element of public interest, in certitude, tilts in favour of the decision making process of HLL Lifecare Ltd,” the Bench held.

Expressing satisfaction over the court’s verdict, Municipal Health Officer N K Yadav told Newsline that though the MCD did not have anything to do with the legal battle directly, the disposal was certainly going to ease their tasks in controlling dengue.

“It certainly is a breather for the MCD. Instead of batches, we can now receive medicines in sufficient quantity which can be used even in emergent conditions in larger public interest,” Yadav added.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 July 2010 10:57
 
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