The Chennai Corporation on Saturday launched a scheme under which it provides cribs to babies born at its maternity centres. The cribs will be given to all babies born after 6 a.m. on June 3, said Mayor M. Subramanian, at a function held to launch the scheme in the Kodambakkam maternity centre.
The cribs, costing Rs.325 each, would be given in addition to a gift hamper being provided to mothers after childbirth, he said. The cribs come with a net to provide them warmth and protection from mosquitoes. The scheme is estimated to cost the Corporation Rs.58 lakh and would benefit 18,000 babies that are expected to be born in the civic body's maternity facilities this year, he said.
Since 2008, the civic body had incurred an expenditure of Rs.39.5 lakh on the scheme to provide gift hampers. During the same period, it had provided 22,000 disposable consumables to the maternity centres at a cost of Rs.41 lakh to prevent infection caused during childbirth, the Mayor said.
Speaking about infections, he said that there was no incidence of cholera in the city. Eleven of the 12 persons admitted recently to the Communicable Diseases Hospital in Tondiarpet with diarrhoeal diseases were from other districts.
Mr. Subramanian said he had visited the CDH and met the patients on Saturday. The Chennai Corporation along with the Chennai Metrowater had distributed over five lakh chlorine tablets in the areas in and around Tondiarpet and conducted special medical camps, he said.
