Shenbakkam, in Vellore, has become a stinking pile of garbage as refuse has been piling up on the streets for the last 15 days. The reason: Corporation workers have been taken off their regular duties and have been engaged in the anti-dengue drive launched recently.
Residents of the area have complained that garbage bins have started overflowing and the stench has become unbearable. They further said, with the impending monsoons, this negligence on the part of the Corporation might result in the spread of other diseases.
Shenbakkam zone has 15 wards, and Corporation workers have been engaged in the anti-dengue drive, bringing to light the severe shortage of staff at the Corporation. Since the Corporation intensified its drive against dengue 15 days ago, sanitary workers have been directed to distribute abate chemicals at the households and clean drains in the area. As a result, garbage bins have not been cleared and are now overflowing.
Member of ward-58, Duraiarasan, said he was informed that the sanitary workers were involved in the dengue preventive measures and would be put back onto regular duty after 20 days. “There is no use in carrying out preventive measures without clearing garbage. With the monsoon ahead, there are chances of the public being affected by other viral fevers,” he said, fearing that the problem exists in all areas of the Corporation.
A local health staff of the Corporation said the sanitary workers would get back to clearing the garbage in the next few days, once the dengue threat was checked. He pointed out that of the 220 workers employed in the zone, only 60 were deputed for the anti-dengue drive, the remaining are available for regular clearing services.
Meanwhile, Corporation Mayor P Karthiyayini had called for women of self-help groups to take part in the dengue prevention drive and garbage clearance duties, promising them a pay of `120 per day.