In flood-hit areas of the district, residents and community workers are joining hands to clean up the slurry and dirt the floodwaters have dumped in homes and commercial establishments.
Many shop owners and staffers began cleaning the establishments on their own without waiting for external help as most labourers were already hired for the job.
Some of the residents’ associations in the city organised collective drives in their areas. They hired motor pumps to empty flooded sump wells and mobilised workers for cleaning tanks. The expense was borne by the residents themselves.
Shortage of cleaning materials, including washing powder, has hit the drive in some areas. Sanitizers and antiseptic solutions went out of stock in most medical shops and supermarkets in the city as residents purchased them in large quantities.
The division councillors of Chernalloor panchayat, led by Hibi Eden, MLA, began the exercise on Tuesday. Large quantities of cleaning materials, to be used in all the 17 divisions of the local body, were sourced from Tamil Nadu. Students and social workers joined the campaign.
Panchayat president Sony Cheekku, block panchayat president M.R. Antony, Dr. Sreerekha of Cheranalloor Pubic Heath Centre, Police Inspector Roopesh, St. Teresa’s College director Sr. Vineetha, and associate professor Nirmala Padmanabhan attended.
