Mayor takes to South Kolkata streets to monitor conservancy work

Kolkata: Mayor Firhad Hakim took to the streets on Sunday morning to monitor conservancy work in parts of South Kolkata.

He was accompanied by Member, Mayor-in-Council (Solid Waste Management) Debabrata Majumder and senior officials of KMC's SWM department.

He found garbage accumulating at a number of places, including Mudiali and Tollygunge team depot area.

"Heaps of garbage has piled up on a stretch of land belonging to the Railways near Tollygunge tram depot. Stagnant water has accumulated in several pockets and has turned into a breeding ground for mosquitoes responsible for spreading vector-borne diseases. We will soon serve notice to the Railways urging them to take necessary action, or allow us to clean up such areas against payment of requisite fees. It is the responsibility of all agencies to keep their respective areas garbage-free, to check breeding of dengue mosquitoes. KMC alone cannot clean up all places in the city," the Mayor said.

Hakim also stumbled upon garbage piling at the side of a road in Mudiali area and immediately instructed officials to clean it up. He was visibly angry when he found a bus that had suffered an accident, stationed on SP Mukherjee Road in front of Tollygunge police station. He immediately ordered removal of the bus and stayed there till a crane arrived and removed it.

It has been found that such discarded vehicles lying in front of police stations emerge as breeding grounds for mosquitoes with water accumulation at different pockets. The civic body sent letters to all police stations from time to time to take necessary steps in this regard.

"I have found negligence in conservancy on the part of our own staff at some places. But it has been found that some central agencies like Railways have been indifferent towards keeping their premises clean," Hakim said.

After his ground visit, the Mayor spent some time at a tea stall in his own constituency at Chetla and interacted with the local residents.