Not Coronavirus, But the Stinky Open Drainage near Temp Kadri Market could Spread Malaria, Dengue Etc
Mangaluru : Presently Mangaluru City Corporation not having a a MOM or DAD to take complaints or rectify a few civic issues, including the menace caused by a bunch of OPEN DRAINAGE in the City, I would like to bring this report to the kind attention of our South MLA Vedavyas Kamath, MCC Commissioner Ajith Kumar, MCC Health Officer Dr Manjayya Shetty and the newly elected Ward corporator of Kadri Ward Manohar Shetty, about the Stinky and hazardous Open Drainage filled with stagnant water, worms, larvae etc, which would spread diseases like Malaria, Dengue, etc etc
This open drain right behind the temporary Kadri Market has turned into a cesspool of filth and sewage. The odour coming out of this open drainage is unbearable, and the residents of the 25 plus apartments of Land Trades “Aquarius” right opposite to this stinky open drain have been bearing the “STINKY SITUATION” ever since the temporary Kadri Market opened few months ago. In spite of various complaints made to the concerned persons in MCC and other authorities, but sadly until TODAY ( 4 February 2020) no attempt has been made to rectify this issue nor attempts made to rein in the odour – for an environment point of view as well as sociologically. This odour from this open drainage must be treated as a pollutant, no doubt at all.
A lady resident from “Aquarius” apartment speaking to Team Mangalorean said, “Me staying in this apartment very adjacent to a open drain, I have been inhaling nasty smell for the last few months, and it has also made the air seem heavy, acidic, much like having a ‘pile of manure’ close by. I have seen meat pieces, blood, chicken and fish waste all drained into this drain, and stranded in this drain, with no proper flow of water. Even at night, bunch of youngsters smoke and do drugs, and I have seen syringes dumped into this open drain. Makes me feel, whether our newly elected representatives are even bothered of the safety and health of the citizens. I bet,, they don’t”.
And if you ask-Are foul smelling gases pollutants? How much odour is ‘permissible’? The concerned officials may not even give you a right answer, but would agree that they may not be able to ‘legally’ pursue departments to contain the flow of sewage that causes bad odour. One such answer you may get from them is “We have standards for carbon, sulphur, nitrogen-based pollutants and even noise and dust. But, there is no national standard for bad odour,”. Yes, I bet other than waste water from poultry, fish and meat shops let into these drains, chances are that poop/urine is also let into this drain. But has anyone from the MCC nor the district administration or the Govt Health Department had any concern towards the health factors of citizens like Dengue, Malaria spread by mosquitoes breeding on the filthy drainage water- I bet not. And they call this a SMART CITY?
Ultimately, our drinking water is mostly safe authorities claim, but do give a thought to the water bodies that are getting killed in the process. And to stop their slow death, it is important that the city and its growing population get proper underground drainage. But unfortunately that has been not done since decades. And many residents having wells near these open drainage, complain about their well water being contaminated by the filthy water. And with monsoons starting in the nearest future, it will be a worse situation, to talk about.
When this temporary market was constructed it was not well planned, and done in a hurry to gain votes by the politicians. No proper drainage was done for the waste water to flow into the manhole or drain pit- and due to this the waste water got stranded, became rotten, filthy, stinky- and put the neighbours and other citizens passing by in hardship and also health/safety fear. The open drainage is so filthy with stagnant water, you could see larvae/mosquitoes breeding in large numbers. While our City had witnessed the problem of Dengue/Malaria not long ago, then why did MCC Health Officer or the MCC Commissioner turned a blind eye against this open drainage, in spite of numerous complaints from the area residents. Is this how the Officials are looking forward for a “Smart City” by ignoring Citizens grievances on safety and health issues.
The safety and health issue of this open drain was inspected by the active members of the newly formed NGO named “PEOPLE FORUM-MANGALURU” and and a bunch of photos of the nasty drain was highlighted on social media, and the NGO also requested the participation of Team Mangalorean, and we went forward in bringing the matter to the concerned authorities in MCC, and luckily, we did get a suitable and positive reply from MCC Commissioner Ajith Kumar that he would rectify the issue soon. Keeping our fingers crossed, we were hoping that MCC would do the needful.
More on this civic issue, will be highlighted in our “WEBSITE IMPACT” report. Stand by…..
