Thiruvananthapuram: The health standing committee of city corporation went through a gruelling session during the council meeting held here on Monday as the councillors mounted collective attack on the committee regarding lapses in pre-monsoon cleaning drive, cleaning of drains and waste management.
All the opposition councillors expressed concerns regarding clogged drains in the city and called for co-ordinated action with minor irrigation and PWD to clear the drains and ensure smooth flow of rain water. The councillors recounted instances of flooding in their respective wards and how a wall had caved in at Kowdiar due to heavy rain.
BJP parliamentary party leader Girikumar also objected to the agenda on selection of agency for preparation of DPR for solid waste management as part of Swachh Bharat Mission (urban). He said that the sanitation committee formed by the council was yet to be apprised regarding the mode of waste management in the city and that it did not make sense to go for a DPR without having a clear idea about the waste management model.
Kalady ward councillor Manju G S said that the corporation had failed to maintain the kitchen bins installed in her wards. “Waste is being dumped all over the ward, because corporation hardly took any initiative to maintain the bins,” she said.
Karamana Ajith and other councillors said that the distribution of cleaning staff in 100 wards is uneven which has resulted in piles of garbage surfacing in all wards. Ajith said that eight staff are allotted to his ward Karamana and all of them take shifts to maintain two aerobic bin units and as a result the routine cleaning works are affected.
When Ajith brought up the case of Anitha, who died on the road after an ambulance got stuck in the mud, council approved the decision to approach railways for an NOC to maintain the road. Anitha, who had suffered cardiac arrest, could not be brought to hospital on time and she had died on the way.
Health standing committee chairman K Sreekumar said that a special cleaning drive will be launched from Veli-Shanghumugham to clear the area of plastic waste.