Dodge sanitary work, face the music

NASHIK: The civic body has upped the action against absenteeism among sanitation department employees after surprise checks at attendance sheds showed many staff missing during duty hours.
Thirteen employees of the Nashik Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) health department were issued show-cause notices on Saturday for being absent from work. The health officer visited the attendance shed of the sanitary employees and noted the 13 absentees from Sainath Nagar, East division.
"After issuing show cause notices, we give the employees three days time to reply. If we are not satisfied with their reply, we deduct a day’s salary," said civic health officer Sunil Bukane.
This is not the first time the civic health department has taken action against the employees found missing from work. Earlier, 17 sanitary employees were issued show-cause notices and eight of them lost a day’s salary. They had failed to give satisfactory reasons for their absence from work. On Friday, nine employees from Panchasheel Nagar were also served show-cause notices for the same reason.
The health department has been conducting cleanliness drives almost every day on the backdrop of the rising instances of dengue. The number of dengue patients has increases drastically as compared to those in the last month.
"In November, the civic health department sent 367 blood samples for dengue testing. Of these, 146 tested positive for the disease. In October, 100 of the 218 blood samples tested turned out to be dengue positive," said NMC medical officer B R Gaikwad.
Since the beginning of the month, the health department has conducted special cleanliness drives besides regular cleanliness in 25 prabhags to curb the mosquito menace. Sanitation department employees are tasked with the cleanliness drive through the city.
An NMC official said the citizens had blamed the civic body for garbage-related issues. "If the employees are late or absent then the cleanliness is affected. Also, after their regular duty from 7 am to 10 am, they accompany the workers of the malaria department to create awareness," said the official.
The special cleanliness drives began after Jitendra Kulkarni of Chetana Nagar died due to suspected dengue on November 5. MNS corporator Archana Jadhav and her husband Sanjay blamed the NMC for being lenient in tackling the mosquito menace. Sanjay conducted cleanliness drives with citizens and the civic employees. He succumbed to the disease on November 13.
During surveys, the civic officials found stagnant water and the presence of mosquitoes and larvae in bungalows and societies in many parts of the city. This outnumbered the mosquito breeding sites found in the slums.
"This drive is ongoing and we found mosquito and larvae in the money plants, flower pots and Chinese bamboo plants. These are found in bungalows and societies and not in slums," said Bukane.
He said the water from the flower pots should be changed every day. Action had been initiated in cases of stagnant water in tyres, construction sites and small cement tanks. The administration has also started spraying and fogging activities. If the mosquitoes are destroyed at the larva stage, then their breeding can be stopped.