‘Ensure quality of water supplied through tankers’

Minister for Excise and Fisheries K. Babu has called for steps to ensure the quality of water supplied through tanker lorries.

He, however, added that unnecessary inspections should not be carried out in this guise. Mr. Babu was addressing a meeting held at the district collectorate to discuss ways to check epidemic breakout.

No dispensary in the district should be allowed to function without doctors. Appointments should be made through National Rural Health Mission or on contract wherever doctors are missing. Awareness campaigns should be held centred around schools and more medical camps should be organised in association with homeo and ayurveda departments.

Essential medicines, including those for leptospirosis and anti-rabies vaccines, were in stock in all hospitals up to the level of community health centres. The minister called for constituency-level meetings to formulate action plan to fight epidemics.

The water department has been urged not just to make available clean drinking water but also to repair broken pipes to prevent infiltration of polluted water. Mr. Babu entrusted the collector with the responsibility of coordinating with various departments.

MLAs Dominic Presentation, Anwar Sadat, and V.P. Sajeendran, district panchayat president Eldhose Kunnappillil, Mayor Tony Chammany were among those who attended the meeting.