HYDERABAD: Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao, on Wednesday, joined Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) staffers for lunch. He was briefed about sanitation initiatives in the city during the luncheon meeting at the Disaster Response Force (DRF) training centre, Necklace Road.
Rama Rao appreciated efforts by entomologists and sanitation staff workers who are working hard to combat the spread of Coronavirus. The Minister stated that their service was equivalent to that of medical health professionals and the police. Rama Rao was also seen serving food to sanitation workers and enquiring about their well-being. He asked the workers to take precautionary measures while discharging their duties.
He informed them that the State government was paying staffers in sanitation, DRF and the entomology wing their full salaries along with incentives. He appealed to them to explain to their neighbours, the importance of maintaining hygiene and social distance, to contain the spread of Covid-19. The Minister also directed the entomology wing to prepare an action plan to combat the mosquito menace during the monsoons.
GHMC website connects donors with the needy
GHMC developed an easily navigable website — Covid123.in — using which volunteers can locate and contact a person in need. Citizens, too, can donate money, essentials and clothes on the portal. This apart, volunteers and NGOs can call on the GHMC helpline, 040-21111111, to make donations. Meanwhile, GHMC Commissioner DS Lokesh Kumar visited containment zones at Khairtabad and Charminar. Also, the civic body’s control room received 510 calls
Akshaya Patra mega kitchen inspected
MAUD Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar inspected the Mega Kitchen being run by The Akshaya Patra Foundation at Narsingi on Wednesday. Arvind Kumar enquired with the staff about the arrangements made for serving lunch and dinner for free in the GHMC limits. The foundation members said before the Covid-19 outbreak, they were serving lunch to over 45,000 people through its 150 canteens in the city.
Now, the foundation scaled up its operations by three times and was serving over 1.5 lakh people every day through 200 Annapurna centres, including mobile centres. The Principal Secretary toured around the kitchen and enquired about the food distribution and supply procedures.
He later inspected the works being taken up by the Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited (HGCL) near Narsingi Circle. He instructed the officials to plant saplings to increase greenery in the area within a week