EOs directed to arrange immediate garbage lifting, Health department instructed to intensify anti-larval measures, fogging and disinfection
Kapurthala News (PEN News): To ensure uninterrupted sanitation services and safeguard public health following the suspension of work by Safai Karamcharis in the Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats of Sultanpur Lodhi, Begowal, Bholath, Nadala and Dhilwan, Deputy Commissioner Akash Bansal has invoked emergency powers under Sections 233 and 234 of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, and directed the Executive Officers (EOs) of the concerned urban local bodies to make immediate alternative sanitation arrangements.
The Deputy Commissioner said that the suspension of sanitation services had led to the accumulation of garbage across these urban local bodies. With the ongoing monsoon season, the piling up of solid waste could pose a serious public health risk by increasing the likelihood of water-borne and vector-borne diseases, choking drains and creating unhygienic conditions.
Treating the situation as a public health emergency, the Deputy Commissioner directed the EOs to arrange sanitation services through contractual agencies, outsourced manpower, hired vehicles and machinery, or by deploying staff from other departments to ensure the immediate lifting, transportation and scientific disposal of accumulated garbage. He further instructed that sanitation operations be prioritized in hospitals, dispensaries, schools, markets, bus stands, water bodies, drains and other sensitive and high-footfall locations.
The Deputy Commissioner also directed the Civil Surgeon and the District Health Officer to coordinate with the EOs for anti-larval measures, fogging, disinfection and chlorination of vulnerable locations, while ensuring adequate availability of medicines and emergency medical preparedness. He further ordered that the expenditure incurred on these emergency arrangements shall be met from the Municipal Funds of the respective Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats, with proper records and accounts maintained for post-facto ratification.
The Deputy Commissioner also instructed the Sub-Divisional Magistrates of Bholath and Sultanpur Lodhi, along with the EOs of the affected urban local bodies, to submit daily compliance reports on garbage lifted, areas covered and any other issues. The order will remain in force until normal sanitation services are restored or until further orders.
