Thiruvananthapuram Corporation lists 7 wards as disease prone

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The City Corporation has identified seven wards under different zonal offices as infectious disease-prone area with some unexpected wards figuring in the list.  Pattom, Thirumala and Poojapura are the new hotspots for diseases such as scrub typhus.  Apart from them wards like Manacaud, Vallakkadavu, Poundu Kadavu, Poonthura which generally do not figure on the radar of health officials also are on the scanner.

The haphazard waste dumping and water logging in these dumps has led to newer areas coming under the threat of diseases. “We will be able to set up camps and a fever clinic immediately if any cases get reported here. There will be facilities to check the blood of those affected. Treatment and follow-up care will be given,” said DMO K Venugopal.

According to Pattom councilor SR Remya Ramesh, the  presence of filthy water bodies make her ward a hotspot. “At Kedaram lane, due to a faulty pump set, drainage waste spills into the nearby canal. This was brought to the notice of the district collector a long time ago, but still no action has been taken. Then we have Cherukarakonam pond where all waste water from lodges in the Medical College comes in,” Ms Ramesh said.

Thirumala also is in the red zone as the dumping of waste on the road side is rampant around locations like Sreekrishna hospital, Public comfort station and MLA road bordering Thrikkananpuram.  “We had cleaned the ward of waste at least three times and it re-appears each time. Dengue was detected near Valiyavila and fogging was not conducted here,” said Thirumala Councilor PV Manju.

At Poojapura, illegal slaughtering and dumping of meat waste is a huge menace. Elsewhere at Manacaud, waste dumping along with water logging causes health issues. Poonthura, Vallaka-davu, Pounduvkadavu falls on the banks of the polluted Parvati Puthanar making it a regular hotspot.