Summary:
Kochi: District collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla on Sunday launched ‘Clean Drive’ programme at Kanayannoor taluk to ensure hygiene in flood-hit areas. Around 70 NSS volunteers from Aquinas College, Edakochi, and Asha workers were part of the initiative. The drive was carried out at Udaya and P & T Colony under Elamkulam village and at Karuthala Colony in Ernakulam village.Officials with the district administration said that the drive was carried out to prevent outbreak of communicable diseases, including dengue and leptospirosis.As part of the initiative, the colonies were sanitized using lime, bleaching powder and phenoyl. Cleaning activities were jointly carried out with the support of health, revenue and taluk officials.The collector also visited relief camps and flood-hit areas at Veliyathunadu in Paravur, Thuthiyoor at Kakkanad and Poovathusery and Ayinithazham colony in Parakadavu, Ernakulam.At Chellanam, which bore the brunt of heavy sea erosion, the cleaning works included removal and levelling of sand that had been washed ashore.“The cleaning and sanitization drive will contimue in the coming days. NSS volunteers from Maharaja’s College and members of Anbodu Kochi, an NGO based in Kochi, carried out cleaning at more than 450 houses in South Chellanam on Sunday,” said P D Sheela Devi, deputy collector, disaster management authority.Meanwhile, PWD officials were doing their best to fill potholes on major roads as rain has subsided.The cleaning work at Perandoor Canal is also progressing at a fast pace and officials with the district administration said that removal of hyacinths and weeds in the canal stretch passing through Kammattipadam, P & T and Udaya Colony is underway.The collector, on July 20, had said that the first phase cleaning of Perandoor Canal, starting from GCDA market building at Kaloor to P & T Colony at Gandhinagar, would be completed by month-end..