GHMC gearing up for Bonalu festival

Hyderabad: With the Telangana government declaring Bonalu as a state festival, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is all set to make arrangements for the festival. GHMC commissioner Somesh Kumar directed all zonal commissioners, deputy commissioners and members of the Alaya committees to make arrangements in a review meeting held on Wednesday.

The Commissioner has promised that he personally inspect all the procession routes of ensuing Bonalu festival for proper maintenance of sanitation and street lights.
The Commissioner informed that GHMC will take up all works pertaining to processing routes and approach roads by filling patch works, maintaining street lights and even providing temporary lighting wherever necessary. The Commissioner assured that he will be speaking with TGSPDCL (Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company Limited) officials and see that no power interruption is there during Bonalu festival. He further promised that he will be discussing with HMWS&SB officials and see that proper drinking water arrangements made.

Commissioner said that temporary would be made available where there is more congregation and medical camps will be arranged in coordination with the Medical and Health department.Sets deadline for payment of property taxGHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar has appealed to the citizens to pay their property tax before June 30 to avoid penalty charges. He added that an interest of 2 per cent would be levied for tax that would be paid afterJuly 1.

The Commissioner said that GHMC could have collected Rs 161 crore up to June 24 whereas the collection was only Rs 83 crore. Somesh Kumar informed that the Citizen Service Centres would be kept open on June 29 (Sunday) to facilitate the taxpayers. Mayor Majid Hussain on Wednesday said the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) would henceforth dispose of unclaimed dead bodies without involving any NGOs. He directed the concerned officials to dispose of the unclaimed dead bodies once a week from Gandhi and Osmania hospitals.

Majid Hussain directed the officials to keep Rs 10 lakh as caution deposit with the Zonal Commissioners (north and south) for the material to bury the bodies.
The officials requested the Mayor to allocate funds to take up embalming process to protect the bodies from decomposition. Majid Hussain instructed the officials to write letters to the managements of Gandhi and Osmania hospitals seeking permission for the GHMC staff to take up anti-larva and fogging operations at the hospitals.
The Mayor also informed that he would be writing to the health secretary to maintain the air-condition chambers in the mortuaries of Gandhi Hospital and Osmania General Hospital.