Urban News

  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size
Public Health / Sanitation

Thrust on housing, sanitation

Print PDF

The Hindu 08.04.2010

Thrust on housing, sanitation

Special Correspondent

Rs.3.26-crore surplus budget for Nedumangad municipality

 


Regeneration of 10 slums proposed

Horticulture development scheme announced


Thiruvananthapuram: The Nedumangad municipality is embarking on a major initiative this year to provide houses for the needy.

Housing is the major thrust area in the in the annual budget for the year 2010-11 that was approved by the municipal committee in March. Municipal chairman Kollankavu G. Chandran said the number of beneficiaries covered under various housing schemes was expected to go up to 3,683 this year.

The Rs.3.26-crore surplus budget projects a revenue of Rs.32.23 crore and expenditure of Rs.28.96 crore.

As many as 683 families are to be provided houses and 150 landless families are to be given land under the EMS Housing Scheme. The budget proposes the regeneration of 10 slums under the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP). A sum of Rs.2 crore had been earmarked for the construction of sanitary latrines for 3,000 families under the Integrated Low Cost Sanitation (ILCS) scheme.

The budget presented by vice-chairman P.S. Sherif allocated Rs.6 crore for the construction of a Town Hall, near the Kacheri junction. Mr. Chandran said the work was expected to begin later this month. It is scheduled to be completed in a year. The town hall would have an auditorium capable of seating 1,200 people and a complex comprising 72 shops.

Mr. Chandran said the ongoing construction of a modern crematorium at Kallampara would be completed in six months.

The Rs.1 crore project includes two LPG-fired furnaces besides facilities to cremate bodies with firewood.

In the agriculture sector, another thrust area, the budget proposes a scheme to promote paddy farming by taking over fallow land and supplying seeds and fertilizer free of cost to farmers.

Banana saplings would also be given free of cost. Mr. Sherif also announced a horticulture development scheme with farmers being supplied with seeds and organic manure through Kudumbasree units.

In his budget speech, Mr. Sherif said the new campus of the Indian Institute of Space Technology at Valiamala and the completion of work on a lorry park and tourist terminal would generate more revenue for the municipality.

He said the completion of the second phase of the Kallingal- Mukkolackal parallel road would help to ease the traffic congestion in the town. The budget proposes a scheme to clean up and preserve water bodies.

The budget has set apart Rs.1.8 crore for self employment of women in the agriculture and animal husbandry sectors.

Last Updated on Thursday, 08 April 2010 05:20
 

Need to create more awareness on health issues stressed

Print PDF

The Hindu 08.04.2010

Need to create more awareness on health issues stressed

Staff Correspondent

Call to stop migration of people from rural areas to urban centres


Focus on health and hygiene:Vice-president of Udupi Zilla Panchayat Santoshkumar Shetty speaking at the World Health Day celebrations in

Udupi: Vice-president of Udupi Zilla Panchayat Santoshkumar Shetty said on Wednesday that more awareness should be created on health issues.

He was speaking after inaugurating the district-level World Health Day celebrations organised by the Department of Health and Family Welfare and other organisations, here.

The theme of this year's World Health Day was: “Be part of a global movement to make cities healthier”.

Dr. Shetty, who is also a physician, said that increase in population was a major problem that the world was facing.

The quality of water in rural areas of Udupi district was good as most people consumed water from wells, he said. It was essential to ensure quality of drinking water as nearly 70 per cent of diseases were waterborne. It was necessary to treat water properly before it was supplied to households in cities, he said.

Udupi district had an Infant Mortality Rate of 8 to 9 per 1,000 live births, he said. The district had a high incidence of people dying owing to HIV/AIDS.

“More importance should be given to issues of health, hygiene and sanitation,” Dr. Shetty said.

Chief Executive Officer of the zilla panchayat D. Pranesh Rao said it was necessary to stop migration of people from rural areas to urban centres. Better health facilities should be provided in both rural and urban areas, he added.

Felicitation

Four junior health assistants, six staff nurses and nine medical officers were felicitated for rendering exemplary service in their fields in the district. Junior health assistants Shailaja Shetty, Vimala Bairy, Salina and Kaveri; staff nurses Deepa Saibrakatte, Hemalatha Gangolli, Tulsi Belman, Shantha Marvanthe, Gopi Karkala and Lakshmi Udupi; and medical officers Amna Hegde Petri, Premananda, Satish, Chandrashekhar, Nalini, Jnanesh Kamath, Damayanti, Shailaja and Venugopal, were honoured.

District Health and Family Welfare Officer Ramachandra Bairy welcomed the gathering. Commissioner of Udupi City Municipal Council Gokuldas Nayak, president of Udupi district unit of State Government Employees Association Subramanya Sherigar, professor in the Department of Community Medicine at Kasturba Medical College Ramachandra Kamath and principal of Vidyaniketan D.Ed. College P.N. Devadiga were present.

Last Updated on Thursday, 08 April 2010 05:17
 

Call for better medical facilities in urban areas

Print PDF

The Hindu 08.04.2010

Call for better medical facilities in urban areas

Special Correspondent

‘Youth must give importance to leading a healthy lifestyle'


Seeking improvement:Students and teachers of Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College taking out a procession to commemorate World Health Day in Gulbarga on Wednesday.

GULBARGA: Students and teachers of Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College here took out a procession highlighting the need for better medical facilities in urban areas and for controlled growth of urban localities for a healthier society.

Students and teachers organised the procession, from their college to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Chowk, as part of World Health Day celebrations in the district on Wednesday. They carried placards and raised slogans in support of better healthcare for people. The procession was flagged off by Dean of the college B. Mallikarjun.

Jayashree Pattankar and S.R. Nigudgi of the Department of Community Medicine were among those who took part in it.

At the official function organised as part of World Health Day here, District Health and Family Welfare Officer Nalini Namoshi stressed the need for the youth to change their lifestyle and give more importance to leading a healthy life. “The youth should avoid junk food, which is responsible for many lifestyle diseases,” she added.

G. Ajaykumar of the college, who delivered a special lecture on “Participating in improving healthcare facilities in urban areas”, said that around 100 million people were living in slums across the world. The failure to provide quality healthcare to this population would pose a major challenge in coming years.

He said unbridled urbanisation was one of the major challenges faced by governments, according to a study between 1995 and 2005. Every week, 1.2 million people migrated to urban areas.

Owing to the unprecedented growth, the authorities were not in a position to provide potable drinking water, and three per cent of the population in urban areas continued to drink contaminated water. In the underdeveloped countries, 70 per cent of the people were dependent on firewood for cooking and fell victims to lung and eye problems. Owing to environmental pollution, almost 1.2 million people died every year across the world, he added.

District Surgeon Sulochana Minch was present.

Last Updated on Thursday, 08 April 2010 05:03
 


Page 318 of 416