KOZHIKODE: The Corporation is willing to avail itself of the multi-crore loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Programme for improving municipal governance and urban services in the city.

Mayor M. Bhaskaran told the council at its meeting here on Saturday that the council could not retract from its earlier decision to accept loans from the Manila-based funding agency.

He was responding after rejecting a resolution brought by the Opposition Leader P.K. Mamu Koya Haji in the afternoon.

Mr. Koya, councillor of the Indian Union Muslim League, said in his resolution that the Kozhikode Corporation as well as the other municipal corporations of the State should not obtain loans from ADB so as to protest against the execution of the deposed President of Iraq Saddam Hussein by a U.S.-sponsored Tribunal.

Replying to a calling attention motion brought by Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI (M) councillor P. Divakaran regarding the suspension of two health officers, Mr. Bhaskaran said that they had issued two different birth certificates for a child even stating different dates.

The Mayor also said that legal action would be initiated against a Malayalam daily for publishing a series of articles defaming the Corporation. The articles did not contain an iota of truth, he said.

He said this in reply to a calling attention motion raised by the CPI (M) councillor Meladi Narayanan, who said that the daily had published about the Corporation's intention to sell off lands to private parties.

Mr. Bhaskaran also said that action would be taken against hotels and hospitals for polluting the Canoly canal by dumping waste materials into the water.

CPI (M) member M. Sreeja raised the issue of the water in the Canoly canal getting clogged by waste materials and that the canal urgently needed de-siltation.

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