Kolkata: Fifteen months after installation, several yellow trash cans, intended for covid waste disposal, has been lost from the road and the streets across the city.
This has resulted in covid waste scattered on the road in various parts of the city.
According to an official of the Department of Health Kolkata Municipal Corporation, lack of alertness by the Covid-Combat team of the Civic body has resulted in a loss of trays intended for household covid waste disposal in several environments.
“With Covid charts from the city take a turn down, our alertness to the disposal of covid household waste on the streets also relaxes,” said the KMC health department official.
According to a citizenship official, the Ministry of Health KMC has bought 2,000 yellow trash cans for household covid waste disposal in June 2020.
However, the source at the KMC health department admitted that more than 400 trash cans could not be placed in several areas of the city.
Tim Toi found several yellow trashies that were not used collecting dust when they lay in the Civic Body environmental health center.
The results are clear.
Large parts of the city such as Jadavpur, Baghajatin, Tollygunge, Garia, Patuli, Jalan Behala are increasingly scattered with masks, gloves, adult diapers or drug strips.
A KMC doctor said that even though the number of positive Covid patients had dropped mostly, that did not mean there was room for satisfaction.
“If the streets are only filled with masks, it can cause health hazards because there may be asymptomatic patients in the environment,” said the KMC doctor, which is part of the Covid Civic Body combat team.
Resources at the KMC Health Department said the yellow trash can was installed more than a year ago after a private agent, involved by the Civic Agency, complained of mixing the waste kitchen with covid waste from a large household.
“After we installed a yellow tray that was intended for covid waste disposal in most KMC wards, the agency had witnessed positive results, especially in several areas that were sensitive to Covid,” said a KMC official.
However, part of KMC health officials agreed that there was still a threat to mix the kitchen waste with covid waste from several environments.
“If we want to eliminate the risk of health hazards, we need to install more garbage in the area, where there are no fewer trash or amount of garbage for disposal of covid waste,” said a KMC official.