District Minister hands over Rs. 25 lakh financial aid for journalists; MP launches online Trade Licence service

Mysore/Mysuru: The 26 new vehicles, purchased by Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) under various grants for cleaning purpose, were launched by District Minister S.T. Somashekar at MCC premises here yesterday.

Under the Centre’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan grant of Rs. 4.27 crore, MCC has purchased 12 Compactor Trucks, which will go to every doorstep and collect garbage and transport the same to the waste segregation units.

Under the 15th Finance Commission, five backhoe loaders and two excavators have been purchased at a cost of Rs. 2.10 crore and seven mini tippers have been purchased at a cost of Rs. 1.63 crore. These machines will save Rs. 4.86 crore annually which was being spent to collect and transport wastes, clean storm water drains and vacant sites by MCC, according to a press note from the civic body.

Online Trade Licence service launched

Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha launched the online Trade Licence service at the MCC’s Old Council Hall on the occasion.

The online service of issuing Trade Licence was launched to help traders obtain Trade Licence for their business easily and hence the software has been upgraded. Traders can log on to the MCC website and can obtain Trade Licence now. An online Trade Licence was issued to a trader symbolically.

Speaking to media persons, Pratap Simha said that in a bid to give prominence to cleanliness, new vehicles which were purchased under Swachh Bharat and 15th Finance Commission have been launched and expressed happiness that the MCC, which was hiring vehicles earlier, has now got its own vehicles.

Financial aid

Meanwhile, District Minister S.T. Somashekar symbolically distributed financial aid cheques to five beneficiaries. The MCC, in its Budget last year, had reserved Rs. 25 lakh for medical aid of journalists. The cheques were distributed to beneficiaries in the presence of Mysuru District Journalists’ Association (MDJA) President S.T. Ravikumar.

Speaking to SOM, MCC Health Officer Dr. Nagaraj said that journalists suffering from dreaded diseases and family members of journalists who had died of COVID-19 can obtain this benefit. “Hospital bills and discharge documents should be submitted through MDJA. Till now, 24 applications were received out of which five beneficiaries were provided with financial aid in the form of cheques. The rest of the applications will be looked into. The grant of Rs. 25 lakh, which was reserved in the previous Budget, would be provided to selected beneficiaries. It has been decided to continue the same next year too,” Dr. Nagaraj added.

MLAs Tanveer Sait, L. Nagendra and Harshavardhan, DC Dr. Bagadi Gautham, MCC Commissioner G. Lakshmikantha Reddy, Zilla Panchayat CEO B.R. Poornima, Mayor (in-Charge) Sunanda Palanetra, Deputy Mayor (in-Charge) Anwar Baig, former Mayors Ayub Khan and Arif Hussain, MUDA Chairman H.V. Rajeev, Karnataka Union of Working Journalists State Executive Committee Member B. Raghavendra, MDJA General Secretary M. Subramanya, City Secretary P. Rangaswamy and others were present.