With the monsoon at the City’s doorstep, once again, the pre-monsoon sanitation drive ‘Mazhayetthum Munbe’ by the Kozhikode Corporation has turned out to be a farce. As the Corporation officials and councillors continue the blame game over the allocation of funds, residents are wondering if the authorities would launch the pre monsoon-drive at all.
The ground reality is that there has been no progress whatsoever in the sanitation programme in 75 divisions of the City. Health officials now have now raised alarms on the severe health consequences, including the immediate spread of contagious disease with the onset of the monsoon.
Delay in the distribution of funds and lack of coordination, among other issues, has reduced the drive into a mockery, allege the opposition councillors. Though the Corporation had initiated the first phase of the drive, which includes removing the silt from sewers, councillors complain that nothing has been done with most of the clogged with waste.
Criticizing the lackadaisical attitude of the Corporation officials, C P Salim, councillor representing West Hill said, “The delay in the distribution of funds for the drive has derailed the entire exercise. After much mix-up, the first installment of the money was distributed. It was then said that the second installment will be provided soon based on the report submitted by health inspectors on fund utilisation. Although the report was submitted couple of days back, we have not yet received the second installment and the drive has now almost come to a standstill. If the Corporation had started the drive a month back, the current situation could have been avoided.”
The Corporation had announced that the pre-monsoon drive would begin in all the 75 divisions from May 1, but failed to take off after landing in a controversy. A proposal from the Corporation Health Standing Committee had been rejected by the Corporation secretary. Health Standing Committee chairperson Janamma Kunjunni had accused the secretary of deliberately rejecting the `32.40 lakh proposal without citing any concrete reasons.
A special council meeting of the Corporation council was convened on May 14 and decided to commence the pre-monsoon cleaning drive in that week itself. It also approved the proposal of the health standing committee and declared that the proposed amount would be distributed in installments among the 75 wards.
However officials said that the distribution of funds was further delayed and so far only around `16 lakh has been distributed.
Janamma Kunjunni said she had convened a meeting with the Corporation secretary, health inspectors and other concerned officials to review the progress of the drive. “We have noted that around 40 per cent of the works have been completed and are hoping to complete the drive by June 10.”
On the distribution of the second installment of the funds, the chairperson said that there will be no delay and the money will be allotted once health inspectors submitted their report.