Inspects condition of roads, hygiene and other civic amenities en-route

Mysore/Mysuru: A week after he was elected as the new Mysuru Mayor, Shivakumar went on a city rounds, his first one, this morning, with the world famous Dasara less than a fortnight to go.

Only on Friday last (Sept. 9), Mayor Shivakumar had set off on a scooter, riding pillion, for inspection of the condition of city roads following numerous complaints of potholes and crater-like holes on most of the roads.

Mayor Shivakumar began his city rounds travelling in his official car this morning from FTS Circle on Mysuru-Bengaluru Road and passed through Five Lights Circle, Suburban Bus Stand, M.M. Road (Male Mahadeshwara Road, popularly known as Chatri Mara Road), Sangam Theatre Road, Town Hall, Siddappa Square, Nanjumalige and Ashoka Circle (Ballal Circle), before winding up at New Kantharaj Urs Road.

All along the route, Shivakumar inspected the condition of roads, Underground Drains (UGD), storm water drains, hygienity in the surroundings and other civic amenities.

As the Mayor stopped opposite the Suburban Bus Stand on Bengaluru-Nilgiris Road, the locals complained about frequent leakage of underground water from Maharaja Complex located right opposite the Bus Stand.

Following the complaints, the Mayor directed the officials to immediately look into the matter and to issue a notice to the owners of the complex, asking them to plug the leakages and set right the things. He also told the officials to disconnect water supply to the complex if the owners do not take corrective measures for preventing UGD leakage and overflows, despite being served notice.

When the Mayor passed through M.M. Road, people complained about an uncovered manhole nearby, which is posing a serious threat to the lives of pedestrians. The Mayor

directed the officials to take measures for covering the manhole, which was reportedly left open after cleaning some days ago.

On his next stop at Town Hall, the Mayor inspected in detail, the ongoing works on the Multi-level Parking Lot in the premises. Expressing disappointment over the slow pace of works, especially when Dasara is round the corner, Shivakumar asked the officials to expedite the works and ensure that the Parking Lot gets ready for accommodating at least 200 four-wheelers during Dasara.

During his inspection at Gandhi Square, the Mayor was flooded with complaints on encroachment of footpaths surrounding it. People said that the complete encroachment of footpaths around the Town Hall and Gandhi Square by street vendors, most of whom sell clothes, had severely restricted pedestrian movement and also posed traffic problems in the vicinity. The Mayor instructed the officials to prepare a DPR soon on constructing a separate path for ensuring smooth pedestrian movement.

All along his inspection, the Mayor, after hearing and  receiving complaints and grievances from the public on various civic issues and poor state of roads in most parts of the city, directed the officials to immediately address the problems.

Speaking to Star of Mysore after the inspection, Shivakumar said that during his city rounds, he had heard public grievances on poor state of roads, especially after heavy rains, lack of civic amenities in some areas and poor and improper civil infrastructure in several other areas.

Pointing out that with incessant rains lashing the city for the past several weeks, taking up road development and other civil works had become difficult for the MCC, Shivakumar said that MLA L. Nagendra has brought in big grants for road repairs, improvement of infrastructure and betterment of civic amenities, which will be utilised for taking up works ahead of Dasara. Stating that tenders were  called and the work orders for successful bidders have already been issued, the Mayor attributed the delay in the execution of works to monsoon rains, which has continued unabated for weeks.

“As taking up road works under rains is difficult, it has been decided to adopt ‘Cold Mix’ technology for asphalting of roads and filling up of potholes. This technology is widely used elsewhere and with Dasara round the corner, it seems to be the best solution for fixing road issues. Besides, several other steps are being taken to ensure smooth vehicular movement on city roads during Dasara, when a huge rush of vehicles and tourists is expected. I have directed all the concerned officials to take up civil works on a war-footing to keep the city ready for Dasara. The officials are also asked take necessary measures to ensure that the  city is clean and tidy in keeping with the ‘Cleanest City’ tag, which Mysuru had earned two times a few years ago as well as with  the rich cultural and heritage traditions of the city, which is known as the Cultural Capital of the State,” he pointed out, adding that priority will be given for filling up potholes and taking up road repair works wherever necessary, on a war-footing with co-operation from all concerned Departments.

Corporators M. Satish and M.B. Nagaraj, MCC Executive Engineer Sindhu, AEE Muniswamy, Development Officer Manjunath, VVWW EE Suvarna and other officials were present.