Don’t Be Too Late or Too Early? Clock on New Rs 1 Cr Clock Tower has STOPPED Working for 4th Time
Don’t Be Too Late or Too Early? Clock on New Clock Tower has STOPPED Working for 4th Time, since its inception in November 2019. The photo taken of the four clocks on the Clock Tower at 7.30 am this morning, showed 2.30 am- Not a good sign for this ‘Smart Clock’ belonging to a ‘Smart City project’?
Mangaluru: Even if you buy a cheap watch or a small clock from any City’s street vendors at a low price between Rs 150-Rs 300, they will work perfectly showing the exact item, till they run out of battery power- but here we have a EXPENSIVE Clock installed on the New Clock Tower in the City, built at a cost of nearly Rs 1 crore- and since its launch date in November 2019, it has already STOPPED working, at least three or four times?
Yes, Mangaluru city got back its clock tower after twenty five years since the iconic Clock Tower was demolished. Four huge clocks with ultra-modern digital movements with illuminated dial and classical numbering and hands installed in the newly built clock tower at the same site where the old Clock Tower existed. The clocks were devised and fabricated by the family of the master horologist Ms. Nayak’s and Co. who were producing clocks since 1939. The city had no clock tower of its own since the old clock tower was brought down more than 25 years back.
The Old Clock Tower in the 80’s/90’s…..
……..The New Clock Tower in the 20’s!
Mangaluru City Corporation has given a big push to the revival of the clock tower at a cost of over One Crore being part of the ‘Smart City’ project. The citizens of Mangaluru city wonder how Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC( could spent such a huge amount for a clock when many important development works like roads, drainage systems, foot paths are pending. And now, the all new Clock of the New Clock Tower is not working- not for the FIRST time, but for the FOURTH Time in FOUR months since its inception. Who is to be blamed? Or who cares?
There might be A Most Expensive Clock Tower somewhere else in a City around the world, but for us Mangaloreans, when we look at the amount of Rs 1 crore plus spent on this Clock Tower in the City, surely seems like it is the Most Expensive Clock Tower in the World? Were our Mangaluru City Corporation officials hooked on stupidity or what to spend over Rs 1 crore of tax-payers money to reconstruct a “Clock Tower” near Town Hall in the City, which was demolished two decades ago to make way for smooth flow of traffic. While everything was going on well along the stretch of this road, why even did the former MCC Mayor Kavitha Sanil along with MCC Commissioner Mohammed Nazeer bother to rebuild a Clock Tower, which is once again creating a mess- putting motorists in inconveniences and also the citizens.
The Clocks showing 2.30 am when the photos taken at 7.30 am
The same funds putting of this silly project could have been used to rectify the bunch of dilapidated/potholed roads which are need of the hour. Only people with no common sense would come up such a project- what’s the point in making city look Smart this way? The amount of time taken for this project to come up, looks like a another Eiffel Tower that came up in Mangaluru? This project is one of the biggest blunder created by our former Mayor Ms Kavitha Sanil during her tenure. Who needs a Clock Tower these days, when everyone is having mobile phones, even the kids, and even the beggars- and also everyone having a wrist watches- then who the heck will look at this clock tower for the Time- and also that the structure is too high- you may even develop neck pain looking at clock?
Show me any project completed under MSCL which is perfect and done to the standard procedures- I can bet bet there will not a single one? But no one cares, since it is public money, right ? That’s the theme for everything undertaken at taxpayers’ expense in the state, for that matter, even in cities like Mangaluru, from walkways for pedestrians, new roads for motorists- but unfortunately none of these projects are done right. Crores going down the drain – sorry I meant, going into Officials, contractors’, corporators and politicians pockets – with no accountability for proper upkeep, or maintenance, or supervision. Sometimes newly built projects are demolished, because they served no purpose. Similarly could be the fate of this upcoming Clock Tower-where it enriches two sets of contractors, on for building and another for demolishing.
You call this governance? Do we have a city administration at all, where someone takes responsibility? Do administrators ever walk around, ever mingle in the crowds to see what life is like for the average resident? Commissioners come and commissioners go, the ‘body’ remains the same – a den of corruption – as former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde once remarked. We, the hapless residents, cover our noses and mouths – literally and figuratively, and step gingerly and go about our daily business as best as we can. Groaning, or sometimes just switching off. Because we don’t have either the time, or the energy. And the authorities bank on that sad truth. That is the tragedy of today’s Mangaluru. That those who should be answerable, get away with impunity. And this clock tower project was former mayor Kavitha’s decision, who wanted to make her wish come true that the clock tower was ready before her tenure ended, but it never happened. But finally, after two years or so, the Clock Tower was launched, and four months later, we already saw the clock stopped working three or four times.
The old clock tower which was demolished was 45 feet high, but the present one is 75 feet in height. The new clock was built at Nayak’s Clock factory in Jeppu, while the motor and the controller were imported from Italy. It is an all-weather clock with LED back-light and is maintenance free. It has an hourly striking feature that is attached to a 150 watt amplifier, so that the sound can be heard up to 50 metres from the tower. “We are privileged to get back the clock tower at the same spot and continue the family legacy. Our family has been in the business or rather a passion of timekeeping since 1939, where my dad Late Vaman Nayak who started the business in that year ” had said Chandra Nayak. Well said by Chandra Nayak, but I was just wondering what would be his answer if this question was posed at him- “Sir, being at the helm of a well-known and renowned Nayak’s clock factory, then why is this Clock on the clock tower has stopped working for the 3rd or 4th time since only four months?’. Looking forward for the true answer.
On a final note, like Ms Eulalia D’souza, a entrepreneur and citizen of Mangaluru had said, “One Crores Rupees for a Clock Tower, amazing figure, isn’t it? OHHH.!! How we citizens of Mangalore wish that Administration, City Corporation or who ever is in charge of this project had used this big money for city’s bad roads, drainage systems, foot paths, cleaning garbage on road sides?? How we wish you took a walk like a common man on our roads, specially when it rains, to get a feeling of life of a Poor Man or a common Citizen of our city. Please for the sake of citizens, avoid spending tax payers money on unwanted projects and learn to put our money to our city systems !!”
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- Rs 98 Lac ‘Clock Tower’ by MCC! Is it a Mluru Landmark or MCC Inducted Traffic Nuisance?
- Not Smart! Reconstructing a Demolished ‘Clock Tower’ & Ignoring other Civic Issues
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