The Hindu                 28.12.2013

Uyyakondan cleaning campaign gets backing of officials, civic body

SLOW DEATH:Indiscriminate dumping of garbage and discharge of raw sewage is destroying the Uyyakondan channel.— FILE PHOTO: R.M. RAJARATHINAM

The district administration and the Tiruchirapalli City Corporation will join the efforts of private organisations to prevent pollution of the Uyyakondan canal that runs across the city.

The canal takes its flow from the Cauvery near Pettavaithalai and runs across Tiruchi.

It traverses about 69 km between Pettavaithalai and Vazhavanthankottai tank, but has been subject to heavy urban pollution on a 16-km urban stretch. The canal has an ayacut area of over 32,000 acres and feeds 36 tanks and is still a large number of people take bath in it.

Open drains and sewage from households and commercial establishment flow into the river at several places in the city. Thaneer, a voluntary group which took up a campaign to revive the Mavadikulam in the city, has recently taken up the task of clearing garbage from the canal banks between the Thennur Uzhvar Sandhai and Azhvarthoppu.

Uyyakondan Padukkappu Kuzhu (Uyyakondan Protection Committee), another voluntary body comprising civic and residents welfare organisations, launched an awareness campaign recently to sensitise people against polluting the canal.

Taking cognizance of the initiatives, District Collector Jayashree Muralidharan convened a meeting a few days ago with officials of the corporation,

Public Works Department, and other agencies to discuss the issue. Representatives of the Uyyakondan Padukappu Kuzhu attended the meeting. The meeting resolved to launch an awareness campaign to prevent pollution of the canal, place garbage bins along its course, and build parapet walls along minor bridges across the canal at Palakkarai, Eda Theru, and Periyar Nagar to prevent dumping of garbage into it. It was decided that the corporation would identify buildings along the canal which had not been connected to underground drainage network and provide the connections to the same.

The Collector would lead the campaign that is to be launched on December 31.

The Hindu                 28.12.2013

Community groups and SHGs to maintain parks

Tiruchirapalli City Corporation Council on Friday decided to hand over maintenance of public parks in the city to community groups and women self-help groups.

A decision to this effect was taken at an urgent meeting of the council with A. Jaya, Mayor, in the chair. Conceding the need to improve the upkeep of the public parks in the city, an official resolution that was approved by the council, said the infrastructure such as lights, gardens, amusement equipment, and toilets have been lying in disuse in many of the parks because of the absence of personnel to maintain them.

The corporation now plans to identify community (comprising residents of the respective areas) or self-help groups to maintain the parks. Initially, the parks would be handed over to the groups for maintenance for three years. The civic body would post watch and ward staff and groups would be vested with the task of maintaining the parks, including the gardens and other infrastructure. The corporation will not pay the groups any salary.

However, they may be gradually allowed to collect a user fee of Rs. 50 a month or Rs. 2 a person as entry fee to the parks. The groups will be allowed to put up milk kiosks through Aavin or other agencies.

The council approved a resolution to relocate all the 66 traders of the Vazhakkai Mandi functioning adjacent to Gandhi Market, to the Viragupettai Overhead Drinking Water Tank complex, where the necessary infrastructure will be developed.

Answering a query from M. Mohamed Mustafa of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Corporation Commissioner V.P. Thandapani said the OHT complex had adequate space to accommodate the traders.

The council gave its nod for constructing a new commercial complex by demolishing the diamond jubilee building, an old toilet complex, a two-wheeler parking lot, and a few shops in front of Gandhi Market as part of the civic body’s initiative to renovate and redevelop the market.

However, the move was strongly opposed by Syed Ibrahim (independent), who sought to know the fate of the 200-odd traders currently at the diamond jubilee building and wondered whether they would be allotted space at the new building or given alternative sites. Corporation officials contended that no trader had been allotted shops at the building and only platform shopkeepers were allowed to carry on their business there on a first-come-first-served basis every day.

Mr. Thandapani said measures were aimed at relieving the congestion around the market. However, alleging irregularities in the move, Mr. Ibrahim staged a walkout from the meeting.