COVID-19: Salary delayed for survey workers, number of containment zones decreases

Field survey workers on COVID duty have raised complaints of not having been paid for the past few months by the civic body. The workers, employed by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), have been engaged in door-to-door surveillance and checking temperature and oxygen levels since the early days of the pandemic.

A GCC official stated that they have employed two kinds of workers — sector health workers (appointed by the officials at zone level) and volunteers (by NGOs). The official stated that the sector health workers have been paid and that payment has been cleared to the volunteers through NGOs.

While the sector health workers have stated that they received salaries on time, GCC Commissioner Prakash has said action would be taken against NGOs that have not cleared the payments.

The number of containment zones in the city has dropped to 32 as against 70 the last week. As on October 5th, statistics from the civic body showed COVID cases present in 756 streets in the city. The number fell to 523 on October 15th. Chennai’s recovery rate is 91% and test positivity rate is 8%.

Source: The Hindu | The Times of India

Call for international bidders for desalination plant along ECR

The Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board has called for international bidders for the setting up of a desalination plant with 400-MLD capacity at Perur along East Coast Road (ECR).

The water requirement in the newly-added areas of the city alone comes around 1,100 MLD every day. However, it should be noted that the agency is supplying a total of 831 MLD to the entire city. With this new desalination plant, which could be functional in 2024, officials hope that it will cater to the water needs of the city. 

The agency had submitted the detailed project report (DPR) in 2014 requesting financial aid from the Japan International  Cooperation Agency (JICA). It is estimated that the desalination plant would have the capacity to supply 730 MLD. The additional water need will be met by treating grey water.

Source: The New Indian Express

GCC finalises tender for buying pushcarts

Complying with the directions given by the Madras High Court, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has finalised the tender for purchasing 900 pushcarts that would be distributed to vendors at the Marina beach.

The estimated cost for the project is Rs 16.5 crore and the push carts will reportedly be distributed in six months. Of the 900 carts, 60% would be allocated for people who are street vendors, while the 40% will be reserved for people who plan to begin a business on the beach. The civic body will collect Rs 3,000 from every vendor each year as fees.

Source: The Times of India

Homeless families request permanent housing

Over 1,800 homeless families living in North Chennai have written to the civic body requesting allocation of permanent housing on October 10th that marked World Homeless Day. The families, living in Royapuram, Parrys and Mannady, have been living on the pavement for the past six decades.

Due to the pandemic, many residents stated that they lost their jobs and struggled to make ends meet and had to rely on NGOs for food.  

The residents further requested a special camp for availing aadhar card, ration card and enrolling senior citizens to welfare schemes.

Source: The Hindu

[Compiled by Bhavani Prabhakar]