The last meeting of the Kozhikode Corporation Council before the forthcoming local body polls turned out more productive than most of its recent meetings with active discussions on some of the most pressing issues of the city.
The delay in implementing the Animal Birth Control (ABC) project was brought to the council’s attention by Congress councillor K. Sreekumar, who pointed out that stray dogs were becoming a greater menace by the day.
He questioned the state of the equipment purchased for the ABC programme.
He said seven ABC assistants had been trained at Ooty to catch dogs using the funds provided by the animal welfare committee of the Corporation.
The ‘ego clash’ between the chairpersons of the health standing committee and the development standing committee, which had adversely affected the implementation of project, was also discussed. Corporation secretary T.P. Satheeshan said scarcity of skilled veterinarians was impeding the project.
The plight of the drinking water project, for which the Corporation had spent Rs.1.15 crore was brought to discussion by JD(U) councillor P.Kishenchand.
He said the Corporation was blaming the Kerala Water Authority without reason while the former had failed to respond to many communications from the latter regarding the project. Congress Councillor C.P.Salim brought the issue of the plastic recycling unit at West Hill that is defunct despite various attempts to resume operations.
The meeting also witnessed heated exchanges between some councillors. Councillor Salim’s corruption allegation against health standing committee chairman Janamma Kunhunni created quite a furore. Sand distribution and pension distribution issues were also discussed.
Earlier, the council passed an adjournment motion brought by CPI(M) councillor Mohandas demanding the government to repeal an order to cut down ration allocation.
The council also decided to eract a statue of Olympian Rahman at Corporation Stadium, before the commencement of the Seth Nagji Football tournament.
