From water to garbage, members raise a wide range of issues at council meeting

Corporation council meeting addresses civic issues including water project delays, garbage accumulation, and manpower shortages in Madurai.

A wide range of civic issues were discussed at the corporation council meeting here on Friday.

Chief among them was delay in execution of Mullaperiyar drinking water project.  While officials claimed that it was carried out at a faster pace than planned, the members raised issues of not closing the pits dug for pipeline laying, not informing councillors about the work schedule and officials declining to disclose the status of the works.  

S. Vasuki, zone 1 chairperson, said, “Even officials say they are not informed by the contractor about the work status. To monitor and expedite the work, officials and elected members should be updated periodically,” she said.  Further, more staff must be appointed to monitor underground drainage (UGD) system in every ward as drainage is leaking at many places across the city.  

Besides, with the explosion in population, garbage is piling up. With the festival shopping season approaching, more waste is bound to accumulate. So, either the number of garbage collecting vehicles should be increased or the number of bins should be doubled.  Of the two fogging vehicles given to each zone, only one is functioning, she alleged.  But City Health Officer Vinod Kumar replied that since dengue cases were under control, the vehicles are used sparingly.  

AIADMK councillor and leader of the party in council, Solai M. Raja of ward 64, on learning that only 12 dengue cases were reported this month, against 15 cases in August, the number should come down further.  

The official said that due to regular fogging and other prevention activities, the situation is not alarming, and the recorded number of cases is normal for a rainy season.  Mayor V. Indirani Ponvasanth urged the official to bring the number to the bare minimum.  

Ward 71 councillor V. Muniyandi said a parcel of 60-cent unutilised land near Madakulam ‘kanmoi’ could be developed into a park for the use of children and others.  Two unutilised Anganwadi buildings can be utilised for housing the library as the existing one has space only for books. Corporation Commissioner S. Dinesh Kumar said he would look into it.