Kulithalai councillors face challenges on civic front

A host of civic issues pending for a long time greet the new Municipal Council. While the council might have fresh faces, the chairman V. Pallavi Raja of the MDMK is a seasoned campaigner who completed three terms as vice chairman before graduating to head the council now.

The foremost among the issues are efforts at containing the mosquito menace which torment the residents living in areas that lie on the banks of the Cauvery. There is the need for revamping the drainage which remains clogged. Sewer lines have silted heavily due to neglect, becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The handful of irrigation channels crisscrossing the town have degenerated into drainage channels. The responsibility of these channels have been tossed between the Public Works Department and the Kulithalai Municipality. The issue needs to be looked into and a permanent solution has to be sought.

While the Kulithalai model of civic waste management drew a lot of curious and interested people, there were gray areas such as creating collection centres for garbage in residential areas that were potential health hazards. Sanitary workers from the Municipality collect and heap garbage from a couple of wards in one area to tranship them to the segregation yard where they would be processed into vermicompost. While the work was really appreciable the intermediate trouble now needs to be avoided at all costs, feel the public.

The continuous burning of mounds of garbage near the Periyar Nagar area on the Tiruchi-Karur road is an eye sore. Immediate attention must be provided to find an alternative to clear garbage and burning of garbage, which has polluted the ground water, has to be avoided.

Despite the town being compact, there is a lack of adequate space for public convenience. Citing scarcity of space the administrators have fudged the issue for long.

Shops constructed exclusively for the purpose of housing vegetable shops in the Bazar Market area and in Andar Main road have remained closed for a long time. Unfortunately, just outside the closed shops, pavement vendors sell vegetables obstructing the movement of pedestrians and vehicles.

The Municipal abattoir is a picture of neglect and public would appreciate cleanliness on that score.

Hopefully, there would be no dearth of unity among the councillors in executing works.