KOCHI: At the end of Day-2 of the raids on hostels in Kochi, the corporation authorities have realised that there is no reliable statistics available with the civic body regarding the number of hostels and paying-guest (PG) facilities in the city! “It is mandatory that all the hostels and PG facilities be registered with the corporation and receive a licence before they start operations. Till recently, we had completely overlooked the fact that there could be unregistered facilities in the city. But, after raiding a handful of hostels, it has been found that there are a lot of facilities for both men and women which are operating without licences,” said T K Ashraf, chairman, corporation Health Standing Committee. “Hence, we have asked all the health officers to submit statistics of the hostels and PGs in their respective circles. We expect to receive a detailed report within two days,” he said. In the coming days, the raids will be based on this report,” he added. According to the officials concerned, the irregularities found in the hostels are highly alarming. “While some hostels provide sub-standard food, some others make four or five inmates stay in tiny rooms. The condition in which food is prepared is highly unhygienic in most of the places. Poor sanitary condition was the most frequent flaw found. In many places the water tanks had not been cleaned for months,” Ashraf said. In more than half the cases, the hostels were slapped notices for violating multiple regulations, he said. “In one of the two men’s hostels raided on Thursday, the facilities were so poor that it could not even be called a hostel. It was unlicensed, unhygienic and was a clear case of human rights violation,” he added.The hostels which were served notices have been given a seven-day deadline to make the required corrections. “The special squad will conduct an evaluation raid at the end of the seven-day period and if the accommodation is again found to be flouting rules, it will be shut down,” said V Sasikumar, Health Inspector, Kochi Corporation. Ashraf said that those who want to file a complaint against their hostel can give it in writing to the Health Standing Committee. “They can be anonymous if they want to. Even otherwise, they can be sure of their anonymity. Strict action will be taken against the defaulters. We are not going to show any mercy on those who have been exploiting so many people for so long,” he said.
Comments
0 comment