• Drains being cleared on war-footing; night-long cleaning planned
• Regular road, footpath repairs to be taken up from June 18 to 20

Mysore/Mysuru: It appears that it takes the Prime Minister’s visit for the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) to keep the city clean and tidy. At least the people living or passing along the routes where PM Modi’s cavalcade will move will breathe easy and commute on smooth roads at least for a few days.

Days ahead of the VVIP’s visit, the MCC has plunged into action with fresh enthusiasm in keeping the city clean and tidy and also clear the clogged and stinking drains which otherwise take weeks to be cleaned.

Here too, the priority is given to the roads where the PM’s convoy will pass. Say for example the route from Mysore Airport at Mandakalli where the PM’s special plane will land on June 20 to the Radisson Blu Plaza hotel on M.G. Road where he will stay.

The route from M.G. Road to the Mysore Palace and the roads around the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing too are getting a facelift as the PM is scheduled to visit AIISH though his itinerary has not been made official. Sources in the MCC told SOM that the visit of the Prime Minister is no less than a festival and hence a drive to keep the surroundings clean has gained fresh momentum.

Night-long cleaning drives will be launched and footpath repairs and cleaning of stormwater drains are being planned. Apart from the regular Pourakarmikas, many will be hired on contract to complete the cleaning.

Street corners will be kept trash-free and petty shops along the PM’s route will be cleared. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is scheduled to visit Mysuru on June 8 and authorities are undertaking works to show the CM that things are moving on the right path and the filth strewn across the city is being cleaned.

Grass growths on the medians are being removed and the space between the medians are being dug up to place flowering pots. MLA S.A. Ramdas told reporters that Rs. 10 crore has been released to the MCC to give roads a facelift. The regular road works will be taken up from June 18 till June 20.

 Ring Road cleaning

 The 42-km Ring Road is being cleaned and both sides are being made garbage-free. The joint operation is being undertaken by the MCC and Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). Heaps of construction debris dumped along the road are being lifted with the help of earthmovers.

The areas that are being cleaned for the last four days are Rajeevnagar, Lalithadrinagar, Bandipalya and Bogadi. The debris is being lifted and carried to the dump yard at Hanchya-Sathagalli where the MUDA has allotted land for a landfill.