Ludhiana, July 11
Gastroenteritis and cholera have already claimed three lives here and the situation is alarming, but residents of the city continue to live in insanitary conditions. The Health Department of Municipal Corporation is finding it difficult to control the situation because of rampant corruption that plagues it.
Localities in posh areas as well as the old city have stinking heaps of garbage, besides clogged sewers and drains. At times, the sewage enters houses, markets and streets, creating horrid insanitary conditions. In many localities, garbage dumps and bins are sources of nuisance because of the foul smell that emanates from these spots and stray animals that feed on the decomposed waste and litter the streets in the process.
Notwithstanding the claims of officials of the Health Department, residents say that streets were cleaned improperly and irregularly. The system for removing domestic waste is also ineffective. Preventive measures like fogging, spraying, dusting and distribution of chlorine tablets for mixing in water are taken in select areas and the localities where the threat of epidemic is more, are ignored.
An ongoing tussle between safai workers’ unions and private contractors is a main reason for pathetic sanitation here. The plan of sanitation committees of individual localities to engage safai workers on contract basis has also failed to improve the situation. Many such committees have either been disbanded or reconstituted with smaller beats for easier regulation.
The MC’s plans of privatising sanitation work has suffered a setback as the state government, under pressure from the safai workers’ unions, has ruled out the idea. Though the decision is yet to be enforced, the MC’s proposal of increasing private participation in sanitation work has been put on hold for the time being.
Sources in the MC said there was rampant corruption in the Health Department. ‘Benami’ safai workers, absentees on rolls and sharing of bribes among senior officials and junior employees were common things. The said bunglings in purchase of preventive medicines and the other items, misappropriation of funds and resale of stocks by employees were also rampant.
The MC Health Officer, Dr H.S. Brar, however, denied that the department had failed to respond to an epidemic-like situation here due to rains. He said sanitation in the city was more satisfactory and the MC teams had already covered about 15 sensitive localities, where 10 lakh chlorine tablets and a number of packets of oral rehydration solution (ORS) had been distributed. “The MC has a sufficient stock of chlorine tablets and the ORS packets,” he said.
