Public Health / Sanitation

Civic body to hire 421 sanitary workers on contract basis

Wednesday, 06 March 2013 09:20 administrator

The Hindu 06.03.2013

Civic body to hire 421 sanitary workers on contract basis

For improving soled waste management in the city

Tiruchi Corporation will soon hire, through a private agency, 421 sanitary workers on contract basis for improving solid waste management in the city.

The move comes amidst severe shortage of manpower faced by the civic body, especially for sanitation work.

The corporation requires 3,636 workers for solid waste management, but has only 1,655 workers on its rolls now.

The city spread over 167.23 square km with a population of 9.16 lakh needs another 1,981 sanitary workers.

Over the past few months, the civic body has been toying with various other options, including a move to rope in men’s self-help group members for sanitation works.

This apart, women SHGs are being gradually involved in sanitation-related works. Yet, the corporation has been hampered by manpower constraint, even as the city is fast expanding on all directions. For the past few years, it has been a general plaint among elected representatives of the civic body that the shortage of sanitary workers at the ward level was reflecting badly on the corporation.

In recent months, retirements and long absentees among sanitary staff had only aggravated the problem.

In an attempt to overcome the shortage, the civic body had sought permission from the Commissioner of Municipal Administration (CMA) for hiring 421 sanitary workers on contract basis through a private agency.

An official resolution on the subject, approved by the Corporation Council at its last meeting, said the CMA has permitted the civic body to hire the sanitary workers through agencies by calling for a tender under the Tamil Nadu Tender Transparency Act and Rules.

As per the resolution, the corporation would incur an expenditure of Rs.2.82 crore for six months if it were to hire 421 workers on permanent basis.

On the other hand, by hiring the workers on contract basis as per the wages approved by the government, the civic body will be spending about Rs.2.46 crore, resulting in a savings of Rs.36 lakh every half year.

The corporation would initially hire the contract workers on a trial basis for six months.Once the workers are hired, councillors could breathe easy as more number of sanitary staff would be assigned to their wards.

Corporation rushes to net mosquito menace

Wednesday, 06 March 2013 04:45 administrator

The Hindu 06.03.2013

Corporation rushes to net mosquito menace

In a hurry to cope with mosquito menace in the city, the Chennai Corporation has called for expression of interest from manufacturers to facilitate distribution of free mosquito nets to poor residents living along the city’s waterways.

Lakhs of mosquito nets will soon be distributed to residents free of cost. According to a press release on Tuesday, the Corporation has invited expression of interest for manufacture of polyethylene mosquito nets, with a minimum mesh count of 156 (156 holes per square inch).

The holes in netting with this mesh count are usually neither round nor square, and may be quite irregular in shape and size.

They have a diameter of about 2 mm and provide an effective barrier to most Anopheles mosquitoes.

The nets supplied will prevent vector entry and have dimensional stability after washing. Made with strong netting materials and seams, they will retain their strength over many years and ensure safety for users.

The Corporation Council recently passed a resolution to distribute mosquito nets to residents along16 minor and major waterways including the Cooum and Adyar rivers and the Buckingham Canal.

According to health department officials, the initiative is likely to prove the most cost-effective way of battling mosquito menace in an environment-friendly manner. People who cannot afford repellents are likely to benefit from this scheme.

The move followed reports that fogging operations were not effective in tackling mosquitoes in some areas.

The civic body has been on the lookout for better technology to control the malaria-causing Anopheles and dengue-causing Aedes species of mosquitoes.

Residents swat, kill and curse mosquitoes

Tuesday, 05 March 2013 06:33 administrator

The Hindu 05.03.2013

Residents swat, kill and curse mosquitoes

buzzkillThese children in Chintadripet seem to have gotten used to smiling amidst the swarm of mosquitoes —Photo: M. Karunakaran.

Residents of many localities in the city have been braving swarms of mosquitoes over the past few days.

A number of the affected residents blamed construction sites, waterways and illegal sewer connections in stormwater drains, inadequate mosquito control operations and use of air conditioners as some of the reasons for the rise in number of mosquitoes.

Many residents alleged that many sanitary inspectors are not at work in the afternoon.

The civic body has planned various measures to cope with mosquito menace. Announcements on mosquito control are likely to be made as part of the budget announcement this month.

V. Saraswathi, a resident of Vyasar Nagar in Vyasarpadi, said “Mosquito menace has become intolerable even though there is no open drain or water-logged space in our locality. Nets too do not provide any respite. The local body authorities should take adequate action to solve this problem.”

“The Chennai Corporation has stopped mosquito control operations in big open spaces such as parks. Water bodies in Anna Nagar Tower Park have become breeding grounds of mosquitoes. I have not seen Corporation workers carrying out mosquito control operations in the past few weeks. Earlier, they used to clean the pond in the park regularly,” said I.G. Immanuel, of a commercial establishment in Anna Nagar.

A resident of a locality near Secretariat Colony in Ayanavaram said a very large piece of land belonging to Pachaiyappa Trust has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Water stagnation in the plot is a serious challenge to mosquito control. “We do not know what to do. Corporation officials say they cannot take action to prevent water stagnation and mosquito breeding as the land is over 200 acre,” he said.

“There are many such plots of lands owned by various trusts in the city. Waste water from illegal buildings gets accumulated in such lands,” he added.

“My son was affected by dengue three months ago. We spent Rs.11, 000 for treatment,” said P.Bavani, a resident of Shanmugam Street near Citicentre in Mylapore.

“They used to spray a pesticide to control mosquitoes. It was quite effective. Now, the practice has been discontinued. Even vehicles carrying out fogging operations rush past our locality. We are barely able to sleep at night,” said Mr. Bavani.

Many residents of such localities near Buckingham Canal voiced similar views.

“Construction sites are a major breeding source. Water is stagnant for curing to take place in construction sites. Around seven days is required for curing. Mosquito larvae need just five days to reach adulthood. Just 20 gram of bleaching powder in a litre of water is enough to prevent mosquito breeding in such areas,” said an entomologist.

Work in more than 15,000 construction sites is underway in the city.

Many residents do not know their air-conditioner too can be a breeding source of mosquitoes, he added.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 05 March 2013 06:35

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