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Erode crematorium bags ISO certification

Monday, 07 September 2009 00:43
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The Hindu 07.09.2009

Erode crematorium bags ISO certification

Karthik Madhavan

Photo: Special Arrangement

Recognition: The modern crematorium developed by the Erode Corporation in association with Aathma Trust. —

ERODE: The Erode Corporation has added yet another feather to its cap by securing ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification for the recently inaugurated modern crematorium.

On Tuesday, officials from Quest International Certification handed over the two certificates to Corporation Commissioner B. Balachandran.

The Corporation spent over Rs. 1 lakh for the certificates. Mr. Balachandran told The Hindu that the certification had made the civic body the “only one” in the country to bag both ISO 9001 and 14001 for a crematorium.

The Corporation developed the crematorium under the public-private partnership model in association with Aathma Trust at a cost of over Rs.3 crore. It opened the facility in November 2008.

The Commissioner said the crematorium operated on a build-operate-transfer model, with the Aathma Trust running the show at present.

It charged Rs.1,300 to cremate a body, including Rs.500 on transport.

Revenue

Since the inauguration, the crematorium has handled 1,325 bodies. He also said that the Corporation got 20 per cent of the revenue and in another 25 years, it would take possession of the facility.

After the certification, the Corporation had set its sight on bagging another ISO certification, this time for the Erode Corporation bus stand. Mr. Balachandran said the civic body was working on improving hygiene.

It was also engaged in installing a first-aid room, fire extinguisher, complaint box, identification boards, and so on.

Last Updated on Monday, 07 September 2009 00:45
 

Micro-organisms to help manage city waste

Monday, 07 September 2009 00:37
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The Hindu 07.09.2009

Micro-organisms to help manage city waste

Aloysius Xavier Lopez


EFFECTIVE SOLUTION: The decision to use Effective Micro-organisms is part of the monsoon preparedness work of Chennai Corporation. A file picture of Kodungaiyur dump yard.

CHENNAI: Thousands of residents of Kodungaiyur and Perungudi may breathe easy in the coming months as the Chennai Corporation is planning to use Effective Micro-organisms to cope with health hazards associated with the dump yards in the two places.

This is part of the monsoon preparedness efforts of the civic body to protect residents of the localities near the dump yards from fetid smell, a plague of mosquitoes and flies and the fear of malaria and other fevers.

The Corporation will start using the bio-solution in a week, said Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni.

Effective Microorganisms is a combination of various naturally occurring beneficial micro-organisms mostly found in foods, including phototrophic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria and yeast.

These secrete beneficial substances such as vitamins, organic acids, chelated minerals and antioxidants when they come into contact with organic matter in the dump yards.

“As the smell becomes unbearable after the rains, we are taking measures to do it before the onset of the north-east monsoon,” said Mr. Lakhoni.

The organisms applied in liquid form to the solid waste would speed up the process of converting it into biofertilizer. The odour from the waste can be managed as it is converted into harmless and useful products.

Decomposition of waste usually takes several months, but with the help of these micro-organisms it will take only four to six weeks.

The micro-organisms would also change soil micro flora and fauna so that disease-inducing soil becomes disease-suppressing soil.

Last Updated on Monday, 07 September 2009 00:41
 

Corpn axes 2 staff for keeping tricolour aloft after dark

Friday, 04 September 2009 13:44
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The Times of India 04.09.2009

Corpn axes 2 staff for keeping tricolour aloft after dark

TNN 4 September 2009, 04:04am IST

CHENNAI: Mayor M Subramanian on Thursday suspended two corporation employees, including a junior assistant for not lowering the National Flag at the Chennai Corporation's zonal office on Tiruvottiyur High Road. The flag should have been lowered at 6pm, as per the norms.

Acting on a news report published in a Tamil daily, Subramanian conducted an inquiry and found the assistants, who were in charge of hoisting and lowering the flag failed to execute their duties on Wednesday. According to the rules, the tricolour has to be flown in public buildings from sunrise to sunset irrespective of weather conditions. They may be kept aloft at night only on very special occasions.

"The suspension should set an example for others. Everyone should know the value of the National tricolour and have the responsibility of upholding its sanctity," Subramanian told TOI. For Stalin and Manimaran, the junior assistant and office assistant with the zonal office, it was their turn duty that cost them dearly. A night watchman who is responsible for the flag hoisting and lowering was on leave on Wednesday.

On getting the zonal office's report, the civic administration immediately placed the staff under suspension. Soon, the latter will be served with suspension orders with charges framed. "They will be given time to explain officially. It may take months before being sent to the appointment committee and elected council for the final decision," a senior corporation official said. In certain cases, the commissioner has the powers to decide on the suspension.

Due to lack of awareness about the National Flag rules not only among the public, but also in the government, the Union home ministry in 2002 came out with the Flag Code of India. "When there is a rule, it has to be complied with," M G Devasahayam, a former bureacrat and managing trustee of SUSTAIN, an NGO, said.
 
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