Hubballi, February 20: The rent charged for barricades to be installed in areas sealed down in the twin cities for Covid-19 protection is surprising the people.
The Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation, which handled the barricading work, will submit a bill of Rs 1,10,50,943 to the district administration, reports Vijayavani.
According to a report published in VV, eight shamiyana suppliers were given contracts to put up the barricades. The assistant commissioners of individual zones have submitted the bills for their respective areas. The highest amount is for Zone 7 – Rs 17.75 lakh, while Zone 3 has the lowest amount in the bill – Rs 3 lakh.
The HDMC, however, has received no funds from the state government released to the district for Covid control and is looking up to the district administration for financial help. It had to use the annual funds it received for purchase of pesticides and safety equipment for the sanitation workers, it reported.
The sealed down areas in the HDMC limits had reached 1,300 as the Covid-19 cases increased rapidly in July and August, 2020. An area of a radius up to 3 kilometre from the residence of a Covid case was quarantined. The distance was later reduced to 100 metres’ radius to be sealed down.
The barricades have been taken off since October 2020, with the persons infected being put under home quarantine.
The rates for the barricades, however, have been calculated as Rs 7 per running metre per day, as scheduled by the PWD. The shamiyana suppliers, however, had charged Rs 10 to Rs 12 for the length of the barricades. The government has permitted a charge of Rs 7, Suresh Itnala, commissioner of HDMC, told Vijayavani.
