The Assembly on Monday witnessed heated discussion on issues such as refuse management and street dog menace that have been irking the city residents for a while.
V. Sivankutty (CPI-M), a former Mayor, set the tone by raising the issues while participating in a discussion on the demands for grants for water supply and sanitation and urban development.
He placed the onus on the government for bringing to a halt the Vilappilsala treatment plant. The government decided to close the plant without making an alternative arrangement. This might even lead to an epidemic outbreak. Even after securing a court order, the government was unable to make the plant functional, he said.
The government had not vacated a court order issued against eliminating stray dogs. It seems to be oblivious to the people’s woes. The proliferation of dogs, which were targeting pedestrians and two-wheelers, had to be contained, he said.
A large number of the 80,000 street lights had virtually become non-functional owing to poor maintenance. This was mainly on account of a government decision that the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) would maintain the lights. The row between the city Corporation and the board over sharing funds and awarding contract had left the streets in darkness, he said.
C. Moyinkutty (IUML) was equally vociferous about the parking problems and the dog menace. The government should find effective solutions to end both.
K. Raju (CPI) echoed similar sentiments, and wanted the government to take steps to complete the Japan International Cooperation Agency-aided drinking water project in the city in time.
K.B. Ganesh Kumar (Kerala Congress-B) wondered where huge volumes of refuse had vanished even after the Corporation stopped garbage collection in the city. “The ‘not in my backyard’ syndrome that had gripped the public on waste treatment should be addressed. The release of septage into waterbodies was a matter of grave concern, he said.
