E-Paper
Amid shortage of staff, PMC to hire contractual staff
This helps prevent outbreaks of vector-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya and zika, says official
Amid the acute shortage of staff in the insect control department of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the civic body on Thursday decided to appoint contractual staff who will be responsible for carrying out fogging and vector-borne disease surveillance and management.
The decision was taken during a meeting held on Thursday in the wake of complaints from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, Siddharth Shirole, from Shivajinagar. The meeting was helmed by municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram with civic health chief Dr Nina Borade and other officials present.
Dr Borade said, “It has been decided to immediately submit a proposal to appoint contractual staff in the insect control department. It will help us strengthen the surveillance and management of vector-borne disease cases in the city. The decision to appoint this staff has been taken by the PMC chief.”
Shirole said, “It is only during monsoon or an outbreak that the civic body hires some staff on a contractual basis to carry out vector-borne disease surveillance and management. The city and its population have grown by leaps and bounds, and there should be an adequate number of staff working at the grassroots level. This helps prevent outbreaks of vector-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya and zika.”
According to PMC data, the insect control department has 434 posts approved for multipurpose staff, 103 of which have been filled even as the remaining 331 posts lie vacant for the past several years. The staff recruited to these positions would be responsible for regular work such as fogging, elimination of mosquito breeding spots and surveillance.
Maternity services at Dr Homi Bhabha Hospital to resume after five years
Maternity services at Dr Homi Bhabha Hospital, Shivajinagar, are set to resume after five years. While the hospital was closed for more than four years for renovation work, the renovation was completed a year ago after which only outpatient department (OPD) services were started. Maternity services did not resume as the civic body could not find a lift of suitable size in the market to fit the narrower-than-usual lift duct of the four-storeyed structure.
Dr Borade said, “Maternity services at the hospital will resume at the earliest. During the meeting, it has been decided to appoint a liftman and other staff on priority to avoid inconvenience to patients.”
Shirole said, “The work of the lift was completed almost six months back, but the PMC is yet to appoint a liftman. Due to non-availability of a liftman, maternity services have not yet been started, inconveniencing patients.”
