Mysore Grahakara Parishat urges MCC officials
Mysuru, Aug. 11 (SPN&DM)- The Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) meeting held at the Parishat’s office in Yadavagiri yesterday saw the members raising issues related to footpath encroachments on prominent streets and pothole-filled roads.
MGP Founder-Working President Bhamy V. Shenoy alleged that the Contractor who was awarded the tender for laying of interlocking tiles along both sides (footpath) of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Road in Yadavagiri, may have got payment without laying the tiles.
Reacting to this, MCC Executive Engineer (EE) Srinivas said that the matter will be verified.
Replying to the concerns that the MCC is yet to take up potholes filling on city roads, with the monsoon having set in nearly three months ago, Srinivas said that the MCC has earmarked Rs. 2.5 crore grant for filling up pot holes and tenders were invited for the purpose in Dec. 2024 itself. However, no tenders were received, following which the MCC learnt that local contractors were not showing interest in the works as payment of bills would take a long time. Another reason was that the tender amount was low, he said, adding that these were the reasons for the delay in filling up pot holes on city roads.
Replying to a question by MGP Members K.V. Bhanu Prashanth, Srinivas and Vasant Kumar Mysoremath, EE Srinivas said that the PWD has decided to execute white topping works at a cost of Rs. 250 crore in order to prevent deterioration of roads during rainy season and other factors. However, this will take some time, he said adding that amidst consistent demands from the public for pothole filling, the MCC Commissioner will take an appropriate decision in this regard after discussing the pros and cons of white topping works and other methods.
The MGP Members also raised the issue of encroachment of a portion of roads apart from the footpath on roads, circles and junctions such as K.R. Circle, New Sayyaji Rao Road, Vivekanandanagar Road, Vishwamanava Double Road, Shivakumaraswamy Circle, Mysuru Digantha Circle, on the stretch from 101 Ganapathy Temple to M.A. Srinivasan Circle in Agrahara. They argued that such encroachments by street vendors, push cart vendors etc., has severely hindered pedestrian and vehicular movement on the roads. They cited the latest example, where an elderly scooterist was killed on the spot when a KSRTC city bus ran over him in Vivekanandanagar as he tried to avoid the vendors who had encroached the road.
MGP Member D.V. Dayanandasagar wanted to know what action the MCC had taken to clear these encroachments.
EE Srinivas said that the MCC Commissioner was in touch with the Police Department on launching a massive encroachment clearance drive shortly to clear encroachment of footpaths, roads and other public spaces.
The MGP Members suggested that the MCC, in association with the Police, should first identify all encroachments by street vendors, fast foods and other sellers, enforcement of a strict ban on street vending in dangerous zones and busy junctions, eviction of push carts and other vehicles that permanently occupy footpath spaces at busy junctions, circles etc., and to find out whether some wholesale sellers/ dealers of essential items are getting into street vending in order to avoid taxes and duties.
MGP Members S.K. Dinesh, Shobha Sambasivan, V.S. Seetharam, Leela Venkatesh, M. Janakiraman, A.S. Somashekar, K.G. Shashidhar, Vishwanath, C.N. Sudhakar, S.K. Shankar and others were present.
This post was published on August 11, 2025 7:12 pm