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Call to make sanitation drive a success

Kerala Bureau

Local bodies to take action against littering public places

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Local Administration Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty has urged the public to make the sanitation drive to be conducted by the local self-Government institutions on October 13 a success.

Mr. Kutty said in a statement here on Wednesday that following an outbreak of chikungunya in Alappuzha district an all-party meeting held at the behest of Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan decided to launch the drive under the aegis of local self-government institutions. Cleaning up the entire State in a day was not an easy task. Hence, the Government had decided to take follow-up action too. The attitude that the public had no responsibility to remove the garbage generated by them should go. Some countries were taking stringent action against littering and even spitting on the road. Kerala should not have such rigorous rules, but stern action would be taken against those dumping animal and hospital waste and stale food in water bodies and public places. The panchayat and municipal rules had been sufficiently armed to take action against such offenders. Hence, the Government had directed the civic bodies to take severe action in such cases.

Garbage was mainly generated in marriage halls, festival grounds. The unrestricted use of plastic was also posing a grave threat to environment. A joint initiative and social intervention were needed to check such tendencies, he said.

The primary goal of the drive planned on October 13 was to eradicate garbage and clean up the entire State. He called upon service and voluntary organisations and labour unions to join the drive. The main goal should be to clean the premises of houses, schools and workplaces. Keralites should set a model for others by making the drive a success, the Minister added.

`No medical aid yet'

Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy has said that the Government is yet to deliver medical aid and take proper preventive steps to check the spread of chikungunya.

Replying to questions at a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr. Chandy said the Government had failed to mobilise sufficient number of mosquito nets to be distributed among the people, undertake sanitation work in hospitals and its premises, and ensure that public health centres and taluk hospitals handled the situation efficiently.

Mr. Chandy said he was not interested in getting political mileage out of chikungunya. It was unfortunate that Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan had blamed the former United Democratic Front (UDF) Government for the present situation. He would not have made such a statement had he been privy to the affidavit filed by the State Government before the High Court in this respect.

When pointed out that the Modernising Government Programme (MGP) undertaken by the former UDF Government had failed to deliver, Mr. Chandy said the MGP had been implemented only in select areas. In the case of the Health Department, the MGP was taken up for implementation only in a few public health centres.

Mr. Chandy urged the people to set aside their political bias and cooperate wholeheartedly with the October 13 State-wide sanitation programme.

UDF support

The United Democratic Front has directed all its leaders and workers to fully cooperate with the October 13 State-wide sanitation drive in the backdrop of the chikungunya fever.

In a statement here on Wednesday, UDF convener P.P. Thankachan said the UDF would set aside politics and fully cooperate with the sanitation drive considering the importance the entire exercise had acquired.

He, however, said the Government was yet to function efficiently in tackling the disease and the impact it left behind.

Even though Ministers were deputed to coordinate the measures against chikungunya, there was a gap in mobilising popular support and the involvement of local bodies.

The Government failed to release funds to the local bodies to carry out preventive work.

Mr. Thankachan said CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan's statement putting the blame on the former UDF Government for the current crisis was unfortunate and was merely an attempt to save the face of the LDF Government.

He said the LDF was ruling a majority of local bodies. It was the primary responsibility of the local bodies to undertake sanitation programmes, he pointed out.

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