Kolkata: State Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim said on Wednesday that 419 special observers have been recruited to boost health and conservancy work under Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC). Hakim held a high-level meeting with officials of Howrah Municipal Corporation that was led by Commissioner of HMC Bijin Krishna, where he stressed on the special emphasis on cleanliness drive to prevent dengue. "Kolkata and Howrah are twin cities. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed us to ensure that Howrah stays spick and span. We have recruited 419 special observers under a special scheme to boost health and conservancy. Each of them has been briefed clearly about their roles so that cleanliness activities can be carried out in an organised manner and on a regular basis," Hakim said. He added that the special observers will report health related matters directly to Chief Municipal Officer of Health (CMOH) in the district, while conservancy matters should be reported to the head of conservancy in HMC. Hakim maintained that HMC has assigned a contractor for removal of floating materials on a regular basis from canals and waterbodies. There will also be special drives for keeping the waterbodies and their banks clean. It may be mentioned that soon after Durga Puja there were reports of dengue cases from a number of wards under HMC, but the situation has now been controlled to a reasonable extent. Hakim, who is also the Mayor of Kolkata, will be sending some modern machines that are being used by KMC for the cleanliness drive. KMC Commissioner Khalil Ahmed was also present at the meeting, who shared details of KMCs expertise in conservancy work. "There will be several teams under the special observers who will rush to places from where dengue cases get reported and take immediate measures to prevent further spreading of the disease," a senior HMC official said. The district magistrate and police will maintain close coordination with the special observers for strengthening conservancy and cleanliness.

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