Pre-monsoon cleaning begins on war footing in Kozhikode

Rapid action teams consisting of skilled workers formed in each ward

Despite the unexpected hurdle posed by the Tauktae cyclone, the Kozhikode Corporation has resumed its pre-monsoon cleaning in most of the wards with increased vigour, to face the fast approaching south-west monsoon. The activities had begun earlier this month, but could not be completed in most places before the low pressure-induced rain last week and as a result, some parts of the city suffered from waterlogging. “We have a map of places that are susceptible to waterlogging and activities have been planned in every ward accordingly under the leadership of the ward councillors and the rapid action teams for disaster management”, said S.Jayasree, Health Standing Committee Chairperson of the corporation. Rapid action teams consisting of 25 persons have been formed in each ward and they are mostly skilled workers such as plumbers, electricians, and even fishermen, who are being trained by Trauma Care Kozhikode to respond to emergency situations. Mavoor Road near the mofussil bus stand is one of the regions with high probability of waterlogging during rain. The drains were found to be clogged with plastic waste even though there are no inlets into these drains. “It is high time the public act responsibly and stop squeezing in plastic waste into the drains through small holes meant for water”, Ms. Jayasree said.