GVMC to focus on rainwater harvesting pits

Visakhapatnam: The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) will enforce rainwater harvesting systems for all the households having semi-bulk water connections in the city, said GVMC commissioner M Hari Narayanan.

Speaking to the media here at the commissionerate on Wednesday, Hari Narayanan said they will give time to 5,000 households having semi-bulk water connections to have functional rainwater harvesting pits.

“We will give them 45 days time to construct the harvesting pits. Rainwater harvesting is the need of the hour due to increasing urbanisation and fast depleting green cover. I ask the people to voluntarily take up the responsibility of having a rainwater harvesting pit to improve the groundwater situation in the city. People should also come forward and join the GVMC in planting more saplings as people’s participation is vital to success. There are many planned layouts and colonies in the city and resident welfare association can come forward to take up the plantation drive,” said Hari Narayanan. Last year, the GVMC has planted about 30,000 saplings and this time they will plant about 25,000 saplings during the rainy season.

Hari Narayanan said the GVMC has been taking all measures to curb the spread of mosquitoes. The GVMC has recruited 150 additional field staff this year to better enforce the vector-borne disease control programme. “Right from fogging to anti-larval operations and door-to-door screening, we are taking all the preventive measures to curtail the growth of mosquitoes,” Hari Narayanan added.

“If a particular person in a home or his/her neighbour develops malaria or dengue, they shall call the GVMC toll free number and report the same. So that the GVMC staff can take up anti-larval operations and other preventive measures in that particular area,” said Hari Naryanan.

The GVMC has been conducting awareness programmes on preventive measures against mosquito breeding on every Saturday.