The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Drive for healthy city begins

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Sunday, May 04, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Drive for healthy city begins

Special Correspondent

Public participation sought for pre-monsoon cleaning drive

Campaign organised by the city Corporation
It will be followed by an 11-day cleaning operation

Thiruvananthapuram: A campaign for the pre-monsoon cleaning programme organised by the city Corporation took off here on Saturday with actor Suresh Gopi exhorting the public for enhanced participation in the drive.

Sanitation is not the responsibility of the local self-government institutions alone, the public have a prominent role in maintaining hygiene and cleanliness, he said while inaugurating the campaign at a function at Gandhi Park.

“We have to give up the habit of dumping garbage in the neighbourhood, public places, ponds and canals. Public health is everyone’s concern and responsibility.”

The actor said the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation had set a model through its sanitation and waste management programmes. He inaugurated the campaign by beating a ‘chenda’.

Mayor presides

Mayor C.Jayan Babu presided over the function. Chairmen of standing committees Rajasekharan Nair and P.Harikumar, ward councillor Chalai Mohanan, general secretary of the Federation of Residents Associations, Thiruvananthapuram (FRAT) Paraniyam Devakumar, president of the Trivandrum Residents Apex Council (TRAC) Amaravila Ramakrishnan Nair and Corporation Health Officer D.Sreekumar addressed the gathering.

Deputy Mayor V.Jayaprakash and chairman of the Health standing committee G.R. Anil are leading the two campaign rallies that will traverse the city on Saturday and Sunday.

The awareness campaign is aimed at sensitising the public about the need for vector control and sanitation.

The campaign will be followed by an 11-day cleaning operation at the ward level. As many as two lakh households and over 25,000 shops and commercial establishments are expected to participate in the drive to eliminate vector breeding centres.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan will officially inaugurate the programme on May 9 near the Peroorkada market.

Dry day

Meanwhile, the Sanitation Mission has exhorted the public to observe Sunday as a dry day throughout the State. A release issued by the mission here said the objective of the day was to eliminate vector breeding centres by preventing stagnation of water at public places and private premises.

The mission directed the public to drain water out of plastic cups and covers, coconut shells, discarded bottles and old tyres. The release said it was the duty of every individual and institution to prevent the recurrence of epidemics in the State.

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