Dy Mayor pleased over KMC dengue drives

Kolkata: Deputy Mayor Atin Ghosh has expressed satisfaction over the drives conducted by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to prevent the spread on the disease.

Ghosh said the KMC collected Rs 4.71 lakh so far from fines imposed by the civic authorities under Section 496A of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act. Under the Act, the KMC team that visits different premises can issue notices to the owner and slap fines if they found the garbage at the premises has not been removed properly or if the underground reservoir and overhead water tanks are kept uncovered. Ghosh said in 2018, the amount of the fine collected was Rs 7.05 lakh. In the past four years, the KMC has received around Rs 15 lakh as fine.

He said awareness drives conducted by the KMC to prevent dengue have been quite effective. Cleaning drives are being conducted regularly and teams are visiting individual houses, housing complexes run by cooperatives, state and central governments. The teams have visited government and private offices, nursing homes and hospitals. If garbage is found in any of these premises, notices will be served and fines will be imposed. When asked about the fate of Talla Bridge, Deputy Mayor said Mayor Firhad Hakim, who had recently been to Europe, will join office on Friday and he will hold meeting with senior officials of KMC.