Mangalore: Task force gears up to handle monsoon woes, natural calamities
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Jun 5: The city corporation has infused a sense of urgency into the need to address problems being created by monsoon in the city. The city corporation officials claim that time spent on election work and early onset of monsoon had delayed the annual preparatory work relating to rainy season. The engineering department of the city corporation claims that the work of removing silt from huge drains is coming to an end, and that the task will be completed in a couple of days.
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The health department has called for tender to clear the drains with a width of less than a metre each, in 47 wards. A meeting convened in this connection has decided that the city corporation itself will get the work done if the contractors do not respond to the tender process. In 13 wards, civic workers have been attending to this task, and if necessary, the city corporation plans to prepare estimates and engage additional workers to get the work done.
The task force set up for attending to emergencies like compound wall collapse, landslide, fallen trees etc promptly, will be in place for a month. The desirability of continuance thereafter will be decided after reviewing the situation at the end of its present term, said superintending engineer, Balakrishna B S.
The city corporation has found that at many places, drains were filled with mud unscientifically, particularly near under-construction multi-storied buildings. This gives rise to artificial floods. It has been decided to ensure that the concerned meet cost of clearing these drains.
The meeting convened to handle monsoon-related issues also discussed problems created by builders, who do not provide proper storm drains, water supply system, underground drainage systems, etc at their sites. It was noted that some builders, who show all these items in their plans, fail to implement them thereafter. The urban development department was advised to conduct detailed inspection before approving these plans, and to set pre-conditions like arranging for the flow of rainwater and adhering to other conditions.