Mayor to go on city rounds on July 17 to remove footpath encroachments

Mysore/Mysuru: The decision regarding the implementation of ‘Pay and Park’ system in Mysuru city has not been dropped and is still pending. Mayor Shivakumar told the Council yesterday that a thorough review of records and documents will be conducted before calling for a tender.

Corporator K.V. Sridhar sought clarification on the matter, to which the Mayor responded. “A decision has been taken in the June 9 Council meeting to introduce pay and park on experimental basis on D. Devaraj Urs Road, Ashoka Road and Town Hall. The ‘read and record’ process is on and the tenders will be called subsequently,” the Mayor said.

MCC has proposed to introduce pay and park in city centre on a trial basis. The system would levy parking fees on Urs Road, Ashoka Road, Sayyaji Rao Road, Vinoba Road, Dhanvantri Road, Sri Harsha Road and Town Hall premises.

The initial parking fee for two-wheelers would be Rs. 10 for two hours, with an additional Rs.10 per hour thereafter. For light motor vehicles like cars, the initial two-hour fee would be Rs. 30, with an additional Rs. 10 for each subsequent hour.

The proposal has met with opposition from a number of quarters, including voluntary organisations, residents and traders. They argued that it would be an additional burden on the public and would discourage people from visiting the city centre, which would hurt businesses.

According to traders and businessmen, there are not enough parking spaces in city centre, so the system would not be effective in solving parking problem and moreover, the MCC has not done enough to create alternative parking spaces before introducing the pay and park system.

In another development, Mayor Shivakumar announced a city visit scheduled for July 17, to address the issue of footpath encroachment. Corporators expressed dissatisfaction during the meeting regarding lack of action in controlling illegal trading and footpath encroachment.

In response, the Mayor announced the city visit to raise awareness about the issue.

It was decided that a thorough inspection would be conducted to address unauthorised roadside traders and encroachments.

MCC Commissioner G. Lakshmikanth Reddy assured action to control the situation and improve street vendor management through inspections.

Council has final authority on cables

Corporator Ramesh highlighted the issue of network towers located near heritage buildings. He pointed out that a person from Bengaluru who owns a property near a heritage building in Mysuru pays an annual fee of Rs. 13 lakh to MCC and earns over a crore per year.

Corporators expressed their frustration with the response and demanded accountability. They requested an explanation from the officials and expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the situation.

The issue of illegal cables too came up for discussion where Corporators raised objections to the MCC move to stop cutting illegal cables from poles. They mentioned that permission was initially granted but later revoked based on a letter from CESC.

Corporator K.V. Sridhar raised the issue and Mayor Shivakumar responded that officials from CESC do not have the authority to grant permission for laying or disconnecting cable connections. If anyone grants permission, it will be considered a criminal case, he said. 

MCC Commissioner Lakshmikanth Reddy stated that permission was granted to companies for laying cables after paying required fee. However, the Council has the final authority.