MCC Commr. chairs meeting of stake holders; appeals for maintaining cleanliness in city

Mysore/Mysuru: With a month left for this year’s Dasara festival to begin on Sept. 22, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Commissioner Shaikh Tanveer Asif chaired a meeting of stakeholders including civic groups, NGOs, Associations among others at MCC Zone-3 office at Sharadadevinagar here yesterday.

The meeting discussed about maintaining cleanliness, repairing potholes, clearing unauthorised street vendors, banning the use of plastic among others during the 11-day Dasara, which concludes on Oct. 2 with Jumboo Savari procession.

The stakeholders present at the meeting, suggested that apart from prioritising cleanliness during Dasara, emphasis should also be laid on creating awareness among the public to maintain cleanliness. They also mentioned about street vendors encroaching footpaths on the main thoroughfares of the city, thus marring the visual look of the city.

Majority of foreign tourists want to explore the city by going around on foot. However, with not much space to walk around, with road side vendors occupying every bit of footpaths and roads, they only return with unsavoury memories, opined the stakeholders demanding the authorities to evict unauthorised street vendors.

Meanwhile, the members of Yuva Brigade extended their support, by offering to work as volunteers stating that, more youngsters were ready to join them during the Dasara celebrations.

One of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) officials suggested that the posters of women Pourakarmikas with a message to maintain cleanliness should be placed at different locations to create awareness among the visitors.

Don’t waste food

The  Mysuru City Corporation is also planning to launch a digital campaign, to send a strong message against wasting food, especially at the Dasara Food Mela. The digital boards will be installed at places, to create awareness among the public and the tourists against the habit of leftover.

In an effort to clear dry waste generated in the city, the MCC is signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a private entity, for which volunteers have come forward to collect the solid waste.

Impose fine to stop plastic menace

Bhamy V. Shenoy, Founding Working President of Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) suggested that, certified activists should be authorised to impose fine of not less than Rs. 500 for littering waste and added that such citizens can be provided an incentive of Rs. 50 to Rs. 100, as a token of gesture.

He also said, MCC should consider requesting schools which took part in Clean Mysuru City Campaign, to be more vigilant to prevent people from littering waste. Bhamy Shenoy suggested MCC to develop an App where students and activists can upload photos and videos of people littering waste on the streets.

Later, MCC Commissioner Shaikh Tanveer Asif released ‘Clean Dasara’ posters. He also suggested the officials present at the meeting, to ensure the waste generated on different venues during Dasara be cleared immediately to keep the environ clean.

MCC Deputy Commissioner Dasegowda, MCC Health Officer Dr. D.G. Nagaraj, Zonal Commissioner T.S. Satyamurthy and members of various NGOs and Associations were present.

Rs. 9 crore to fix potholes

The MCC Commissioner, reacting to one of the suggestions by the participants to ensure Mysuru was free of potholes before Dasara, said tender has been already awarded to a contractor to fill up the potholes.

“However, with city receiving continuous rainfall for the past three months, the works on filling up the potholes have slowed down. With a month left for this year’s Dasara to start, the contractor has been strictly ordered to complete the works at the earliest, for which Rs. 9 crore has been kept aside,” he said.