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Public Health / Sanitation

Now, call corporation staff to get rid of mosquitoes

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The Times of India              22.04.2013

Now, call corporation staff to get rid of mosquitoes

CHENNAI: Chennai corporation will soon publicise the contact numbers of sanitary inspectors in each street to enable residents to lodge complaints, if any, on deficient anti-mosquito fogging.

The civic body hit upon the idea after complaints poured in from several areas about mosquito menace and certain deficiencies in fogging. A senior corporation official told TOI: "We are planning to put up contact details of the sanitary inspector in charge, and the time and day of anti-mosquito fogging in each street. It will help residents contact the designated officer for anti-mosquito fogging."

Corporation officials feel that publicising contact details of officers will reduce the complaints about any service deficiency. "It will also help officials to dispose complaints at the earliest. At present, complaints will be routed to the complaint cell (1913). It will take some time for officers to address the issue".

The corporation had recently put up the contact details of inspectors in charge of garbage collection. After the details were printed on garbage bins, redressal of the grievances was effective.

Residents have welcomed the idea. "If we have the mobile number of civic body officials then we can directly take up issues in the ward with them," said R Vasantha of Adyar.

Officials said they would soon map streets to ascertain the situation. "Workers complained that they could not cover all streets in a ward due to shortage of materials. Once the mapping is done, we will know the requirements in each ward. We expect a decline in the density of mosquitoes after the deployment of contract workers," an official said.

The civic body will also recruit 3,000 contract workers to tackle the mosquito menace. The civic body's fogging operations have been hit by a severe shortage of workers, particularly after the expansion of the corporation limits.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 23 April 2013 04:36
 

Pipelines replaced after sewage mixes with drinking water

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The Hindu                   17.04.2013

Pipelines replaced after sewage mixes with drinking water

Corporation workers removing old concrete pipelines that were damaged in Velasamy Street at Arisipalayam in Salem on Tuesday.— PHOTO: P. GOUTHAM
Corporation workers removing old concrete pipelines that were damaged in Velasamy Street at Arisipalayam in Salem on Tuesday.— PHOTO: P. GOUTHAM

Following complaints from residents of Velasamy Street in Arisipalayam (Ward 27), that sewage mixed water was supplied to them for the past two months, works began on Tuesday to replace 400 metres of concrete pipelines that were laid 30 years ago.

City Municipal Corporation officials said that the sewage in the ground was absorbed by the cement pipes, which subsequently mixed with the drinking water. The pipes were being replaced now and the work would be completed in two days. Since a few residents in the area reported of diarrhoea after drinking the water, medicines would be supplied to them, the officials said.

 

City’s waterways to be de-weeded

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The Hindu                   17.04.2013

City’s waterways to be de-weeded

reclaiming our waterbodiesBesides the major waterways — Adyar river (above), Cooum river and the Buckingham canal — the civic body is also cleaning up other canals —Photo: M. Karunakaran
reclaiming our waterbodiesBesides the major waterways — Adyar river (above), Cooum river and the Buckingham canal — the civic body is also cleaning up other canals —Photo: M. Karunakaran

Corporation removes water hyacinth, floating garbage from rivers and canals to combat mosquito menace; conservationists protest changes to ecology.

Residents along the city’s waterways may soon enjoy some respite from the mosquito menace as the rivers are being cleaned up.

The Chennai Corporation recently began removing water hyacinth and floating garbage from the city’s waterways, including those maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD).

Besides the major waterways — Adyar river, Cooum river and the Buckingham canal — the civic body is also de-weeding other canals in the city.

According to PWD sources, it was decided to allow the civic body to remove the vegetation in the waterways during a recent meeting on combating the problem of mosquito breeding. As the PWD did not have sufficient funds, the civic body was requested to take up the cleaning operation.

The PWD removes sand bars from the river estuary regularly and desilts the major waterways before the onset of the northeast monsoon.

While this work has brought some relief to city residents, those living in the merged areas, including southern Chennai, want other water courses and lakes such as Okkiyam Maduvu and Velachery lake to be cleared of weeds and water hyacinth. The Okkiyam Maduvu canal has not been cleaned for over a year now, said residents of Thoraipakkam.

Kamala Raghavan of Mettukuppam said two water bodies in the area were closed to facilitate the laying of roads. Several localities still depended on wells for their water needs.

“Okkiyam Maduvu has water and helps to recharge groundwater in our locality. If the waterway is desilted and cleaned, it will help retain the water table,” she said.

Meanwhile, residents of Ururkuppam and some environmentalists complained that the work had further damaged the ecology of the estuary.

K. Saravanan of Ururkuppam said the vegetation on a riverine island, which is an important nesting habitat, was removed.

Representatives of Save Chennai Beaches Campaign and Madras Naturalists Society said the few islands on the river were home to mangroves in the estuary and must not be disturbed.

 


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