On Tuesday, when officials from the Corporation visited an engineering industry in the city, they found a drum filled with water but left open.
The water was for construction work that was going on and the contractor had not closed it. It had become a breeding place for mosquitoes. The local body slapped penalty on the industry.
Subsequently, on Wednesday, the Coimbatore District Small Industries’ Association sent out messages to all its members on the dengue preventive measures that need to be taken on industry premises.
“It is very difficult to educate the workers on some of these issues. The local body officials should first educate the industries, issue show cause notices and only then impose fine. In the current scenario, industries are facing financial problems and high penalty by the Corporation will only affect them further,” said the association president V. Sundaram.
The workers need to be told repeatedly to remove the old tyres and waste materials and not to keep water containers open.
The officials have visited engineering units, textile mills, small scale industries in the last few days.
The Corporation can approach the trade and industry bodies to create awareness among members and to take the message to the workers, Mr. Sundaram added.
On Wednesday, the Corporation levied penalty of ₹4.14 lakh on various establishments.
The total fine levied so far is ₹29 lakh, said the Corporation Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan.
According to a textile mill association representative, the inspections are happening across the State and several mills have been asked to pay penalty. The action taken varies from one place to another. However, there is also an instance where the officials wanted to inspect the hostels where workers of the textile mills stay. They also asked for building plan approvals. When the inspection is for dengue preventive measure, they should not ask for other documents. This creates fear among the units, the representative said.
An official of the Corporation said the officials could have asked for the building plan to check if the water storage area has been approved. According to industry sources, the associations have started advising the members’ units on the measures that need to be taken, how the units should become a regular practice for the workers to keep the premises clean. The associations, however, urged the local body to serve show cause notices and create awareness among the units if they find violation and take action if there is no response.
