Shift roadside vendors from Raja Marga near Palace: MP

Lights to glow on entire Ring Road in two weeks

Mysore/Mysuru: Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha has directed the officials to shift roadside vendors who have occupied either side of Raja Marga, around the core area of Mysore Palace.

Chairing a meeting to review the progress of works under PM’s Street Vendors Ata Nirbhar Nidhi (PM-SVANidhi ) at Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) yesterday, Pratap Simha said that the beauty around Mysore Palace should be maintained as the City is evolving as the biggest and beautiful place of the State. “It is imperative to make changes accordingly in the wake of surge in number of tourists visiting the city due to Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, train and air connectivity,” he added.

Hence, the roadside vendors around Palace should be allotted separate zones, so that the vendors will be benefited without inconveniencing either people or traffic. A date should be fixed for inspection, the MP directed the officials.

The tourists and public alike moving on Raja Marga face severe inconvenience due to roadside vendors and other vendors on foot. On the other hand,  traffic density is also high and there are complaints of harassment from  transgenders on motorists who demand money. The MP directed MCC Commissioner G. Lakshmikantha Reddy to instruct officials to look into the issue. In reference to roadside vendors, Pratap Simha said “Exclusive hawker zones should be created for the benefit of residents at each wards to access essential items, food and other articles. In all 12 Street Vending Zones have been planned and four among them are approved. Under PM SVANidhi  alone, 15,000 hawkers have been identified in Mysuru who are provided with ID cards, licence and micro credit of Rs. 10,000 for each of 11,800 among the total hawkers.”

Simha also set a deadline for the officials to complete works on installing electric poles on Outer-Ring Road (ORR) by two weeks. The ORR which had plunged into dark is now lit up with LED bulbs. While the works are underway at some places, mini mast lights should be installed at those places where the lux is dim and complete the total works by two weeks. By month end, the total stretch of ORR should be lit up with LED bulbs, MP added.

MCC Commissioner G. Lakshmikantha Reddy explained that the works on installing cables on ORR are 99 percent complete, with the works on installing High Mast lights only pending. 

“Of the plans to install 4,300 LED bulbs in the city, 4,236 bulbs have been installed, with the pending works on installing 60 mini high mast lights. In all 18 dark spots have been identified and mini high mast lights will be installed at such places. Centralised Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) will be installed at 90 places to switch on and off the lights and the works have been completed at 70 places, and pending works in remaining 20 places will be completed by two or three days.”

During the same time, 20 high mast lights will be installed. But there has been a delay in supply of lights and action will be taken to complete the works by another 15 to 20 days, MCC Commissioner Lakshmikantha Reddy said.

The contractor present at the meeting said that at some places, the electricity poles are weak, while at some other places they are broken due to accidents and other reasons. “Such poles are being replaced by new poles. At other places, the poles should be strengthened with concrete and it requires minimum of 20 days for curing,” he added.

This post was published on February 5, 2023 7:58 pm