Councillors upset over official apathy towards cleaning in twin cities

In the face of increasing dengue cases, councillors in the Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation, cutting across party lines, lambast officials for their negligence in handling the issue

Opposition councillors arguing with Deputy Mayor Satish Hangal during the monthly municipal council meeting in Dharwad on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The reported apathy of the municipal authorities in handling the increase in dengue cases in the twin cities of Hubballi Dharwad rocked the monthly council meeting of Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation in Dharwad on Wednesday with councillors, cutting across party lines, lambasting them for their negligence in handling the issue.

Raising the issue of official apathy towards handling dengue, BJP councillor Shivu Hiremath said that 50% of the garbage tippers are under repair severely hampering garbage collection. And the officials are holding dengue awareness campaigns for namesake, while not taking any precautionary measures at the ground level.

He said that no fogging or spraying of disinfectants has been initiated in the twin cities. The public toilets are in pathetic condition as the HDMC has not funded purchase of acid and bleaching powder. This apart, as the garbage tippers and tractors are collecting wet and dry waste from houses once in four days, most of the people are dumping waste on the road, he said.

Subsequently, several councillors from the BJP and the Congress concurred with him and raised related issues and sought to know whether the HDMC is facing fund or labour shortage to take up daily cleaning.

Leader of Opposition in HDMC Suvarna Kallakuntla expressed displeasure over the lethargy of the officials. She said that because of their apathy, there has been no proper cleaning. The drains are chocked leading to inundation in low-lying areas and subsequently, they are turning into mosquito-breeding spots, she said, urging the House to recommend action against erring officials.

Responding to the queries raised by the councillors, HDMC Commissioner Ishwar Ullagaddi said that the twin cities with a static population of 11.63 lakh and over 70,000 floating population have approximately 4.12 lakh property.

And, as per government norms, there should be one garbage tipper for every 1,000 houses. However, HDMC presently has only 216 tippers against the actual requirement of 480 auto tippers, he said.

Moreover, as the auto tippers are nearly a decade old, every day 15 to 18 tippers are going for repairs and it takes at least 15 days to get them repaired. As there are no spare vehicles, the HDMC is hiring tractors through outsourcing, he said.

Mr. Ullagaddi said that HDMC is facing shortage of 234 tippers, but funds have been mobilised through 15th State Finance Commission to purchase 102 tippers, loaders, compactors and silting vehicles.

These vehicles are supposed to be pressed into service in another 10 days, he added.

He said that each of the 12 zones has been given ₹5 lakh for expenses towards fogging and cleaning drains and the work will start on Thursday. He assured the House that steps will be taken to resolve the cleaning issue before the next council meeting.

However, the opposition councillors were not satisfied with the clarification given by the commissioner. They staged a walkout saying that opposition leaders have no say in the functioning of the corporation and they are not being heard properly during the meetings.

Earlier, at one point of time, Suvarna Kallakuntla rushed to the well of the House and staged a dharna. She also opposed the proposed hike in fee for building permission for residential and commercial buildings in the twin cities and demanded that it should be dropped.

In the absence of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor Satish Hangal chaired the meeting.

After staging the walkout from the council meeting, the opposition councillors staged a dharna on the corporation premises alleging step-motherly treatment towards the opposition councillors.