The Hindu             07.02.2014

GHMC on the move; road repairs to cost Rs.78 crore

Special Correspondent

The GHMC Standing Committee, which met here on Thursday resolved to name the Kandikal Gate Road over Bridge (RoB) after Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, Uppuguda Road under Bridge (RuB) after Babu Jagjeevan Ram and the proposed flyover at Toli Chowki after former MIM chief Sultan Salahuddin.

For improving road conditions in the city, the committee gave nod for comprehensive road development works estimated at Rs.78 crore.

The meeting chaired by Mayor Mohammed Majid Hussain also approved a proposal to carry out a survey of slums to collect details on population, self-help groups, drinking water sources and availability of community halls. For providing safe drinking water there, 80 reverse osmosis plants would be taken up in the first phase.

It was agreed to sanction 50 electric poles to each corporator and the officials were asked to start the process pending approval of the general body. Each ward would be also be allocated a vehicle for 10 days for lifting of debris at a cost of Rs.1.20 crore.

Under comprehensive road development project, approval was accorded for works at different places apart from works related to road-widening, junction improvements and strengthening and re-carpeting of some road stretches.

Payment of structural compensation to owners for properties affected under the road-widening at different places was cleared and approval was given for development and beautification of Mir Alam Tank Ring Bund and Malaka Cheruvu and developing a park at Kishanbagh.

The committee approved the proposal on providing Group Personal Accident Insurance Policy to outsourcing workers and the officials were also asked to put up the proposals for sanction of new sanitation workers in the next meeting.

The Hindu             07.02.2014

Civic body to seek opinion on traditional healing

Rajesh B. Nair

The critical observations made in the local fund audit against the district panchayat for appointing a “traditional healer” to provide medical care to children affected with autism has prompted the civic body to seek the opinion of a medical panel to find the effectiveness of the treatment.

In the year 2007, the panchayat on its own roped in a Palaghat based person, who runs a private traditional healing centre there, to provide traditional medicines to children with autism.

Centre opened

A centre was opened at Venganoor where the “traditional healer” makes routine visits after collecting herbal medicines from the tribal villages of Agali, Sholayur and Pudur.

The budgetary allocation for the programme had gone up from Rs 10 lakh in the initial period to Rs 20 lakh in the current fiscal.

In the local fund audit for the year 2012-13, the auditors sought to know from the authorities on the criteria for selecting the practitioner, whether the firm floated by him has been recognised by the medical council and registered with the Travancore Cochin Medical Council.

An official with the district panchayat told The Hindu that the practitioner has not registered with the Travancore Cochin Medical Council and there was no scientific proof to show the utility of the medicine administered to the children.

However, he said the civic body has decided to continue with the programme as some of the parents of the autism affected children gave positive feedback.

President of the district panchayat Ansajitha Ressal said, “after the audit report, we wanted to shutdown the centre. But a few parents wanted the treatment to continue. We have received a mixed response. Now we are planning to appoint a panel of government doctors, including ENT specialists and neurologists to evaluate the children. The drugs controller will be asked to test the herbal medicine administered to the children. The payment made to the practitioner, an official said was purely based on the requirement made by him and there was no scientific parameter adopted in paying for the service provided by him.”

“We need to have a re-look on the payment side too,” Ms. Ressel said.