Kochi: The ruling and opposition councillors in Kochi Corporation joined hands to demand the termination of the contract for deploying vehicles for transporting solid wastes as the contractor had failed to meet the demand. Members from both camps came together during the meeting held on Saturday to launch a major attack against the contractor for the failure to provide the vehicles needed for the purpose.
The lack of trucks to transport the waste was one of the major grievances of the councillors in the special meeting convened to discuss ways to combat the outbreak of the fever epidemic. Although Mayor Soumini Jain and health Standing Committee chairperson V.K. Minimol reasoned that the sudden termination of the contract would adversely impact the three-day sanitation campaign planned by the civic body, it failed to convince the members as they insisted on canceling the contract in tune with the overall sentiment in the council.
As the members stayed adamant, the mayor asked the Corporation secretary to issue a notice to the contractor immediately to make available enough trucks failing which an alternative mechanism of hiring vehicles should be explored. “The trucks deployed by the contractor should transport waste dumped along roadsides as well and all solid waste including fallen trees and branches. The health department should monitor this,” she said.
The Secretary said that a notice was served on Friday to the contractor asking him to make available trucks on demand in divisions one to 10 after a meeting chaired by Minimol. The secretary said there was a report of unavailability of vehicles in these divisions. Minimol however said the understanding was violated on Saturday when trucks failed to turn up at one of these divisions.
Ruling councillors T.K. Ashraf and K.R. Premkumar were the most vociferous and they threatened to stage protests if corrective measures were not taken. Opposition leader K.J. Antony said the contractor should be blacklisted if he failed to provide enough vehicles to lift the wastes. He wondered why the ruling front was afraid of the contractor. K.V.P. Krishna Kumar, Tax Appeal Committee chairman said that a notice should be sent to the contractor while deputy mayor T.J. Vinod said the contractor should be asked to reply to the notice served on him.
