Without proper maintenance, hand-washing points and sanitiser dispenser units set up in various places in the city to promote the government’s ‘Break the Chain’ campaign have almost disappeared. Public taps and soap dispensers that were common and fully functional during the national lockdown period have been rendered unusable.
Though a number of residents’ associations, local clubs and citizens’ forums were active in setting up water taps across the city, the practice is on the decline even within Kozhikode Corporation limits, where COVID-19 cases are on the rise. At present, usable taps and soap dispensers are not available even near bus shelters.
The efforts of some autorickshaw drivers to set up portable hand-washing units in their vehicles too have come to an end. Though such initiatives were highlighted as models in fighting COVID-19, they lost steam midway. Merchants and autorickshaw drivers in the city said people were disinclined to use public taps since hand sanitisers had gained popularity and were easy to use. Sanitiser dispensers are now available in front of all shops in the city.
Office-bearers of a youth club said they tried to set up public taps and soap dispensers during the lockdown days mainly to spread awareness about the need for personal hygiene.
The Corporation authorities, meanwhile, said they would encourage the proper maintenance and continuation of all such existing units as they would be useful for many in the absence of other sanitising options. They claimed that many non-functional public taps were recently repaired and soap dispensers were being refilled regularly.
