Mescom gets SHOCK? MCC Charges Them Rs 59 Lacs for Digging
Mangaluru: One thing for sure, that you’ll all agree with me is that-Digging of roads/streets/bye-lanes/footpaths will never stop in Mangaluru no matter what- and we have seen it in the past and will see it in future too. Mescom, Telephone Co’s, Contractors, building owners etc- they all dig the roads/streets, footpaths without prior permission from Mangaluru City Corporation. There is no end to this- and once they dig, and after their work is done, they leave the dug up area in a shabby condition. And no action is taken against them, either by the MCC or District Administration.
Here we are talking about Mangaluru Electricity Supply Company (MESCOM) which during the past few days have dug the whole stretch of City street from Karavali Circle (Kankanady Pumpwell) till Hamilton Circle to install new 33-KV power cable this initiative has been taken up by Mescom due to frequent disruptions in power supply due to bad weather, falling of tree branches, and other reasons. Now that almost 75% of the digging work has been done, and cables already been laid- but the dug locations have been left without restoring it back to its original condition. It’s a mess already out there, and traffic and pedestrians are facing the brunt of it.
But what’s funny is that MCC officials including the Mayor woke up just a couple days ago to find out that many streets/footpaths at various spots in the City had been dug by Mescom workers for laying electric cables without MCC’s approval. But many would ask, why a reputed company like Mescom would carry on the digging work without getting permission from MCC- and that too now done illegally. One would also ask when thousands of citizens have noticed this digging work taking place couple of weeks ago (and even Team Mangalorean had published a report on this issue titled “Digging never stops in Mangaluru- Now It’s Mescom’s Turn” dated 8 March 2017), how come MCC officials had not seen it).
And yesterday while addressing the media persons, Mayor Kavitha Sanil said that she came to know about all this digging when she took a ride with MCC Council Chief Whip Sashidhar Hegde, and noticed all the mess left behind at the dug up locations. Don’t give us all that crap, Mayor? MCC officials should have noticed this long before when the digging was just started, and not wake up from their sleep to take action when most of the digging is done. As they say “Better late than never”- now the Mayor has taken stern action against Mescom in order to rectify the problems. What a lovely MCC do we have?
Speaking during the “Meet The Press” with the journos at Mangalore Press Club, Mayor Kavitha Sanil said, ” MCC has served notice to Mescom for digging footpaths and streets to lay underground electric cables without taking pre-requisite permission from the local body. I have directed the officials to serve notice as the Mescom has to pay Rs 59 lakhs in the form of fee for digging work, besides restoring the structure with interlock tiles as existed earlier. Before initiating this action I took a ride around the City accompanied by MCC Council Chief Whip Shashidhar Hegde, and inspected places at Balmatta, Karavali Circle area, Bendore-well, Jyothi Circle, Balmatta Road, Hampankatta, and found that debris created after digging footpaths/roads have left unattended making it hard for pedestrians to walk”.
” Outraged at this situation, I directed MCC officials to seize all the equipment and machinery used by the Mescom laborers, so that no further digging is done, without prior permission from MCC. We have served Mescom a notice to restore the footpaths/streets back to their earlier look, and failure to do so, we will file criminal charges against Mescom. But at the moment we are taking it easy on Mescom, in order to maintain inter-department relations, since MCC has been a consumer of Mescom. When this issue was brought to the notice of MLA JR Lobo, he took Mescom authorities to task in this regard, and urged them to fix all the dug up locations.” added Mayor.
So, until the footpaths/streets are restored to their original condition, pedestrians have to bear with all these inconveniences and also there would be traffic snarls which will be an added nightmare. But one thing for sure, even though MCC has issued a notice to Mescom, trust me, it will be a long way before these footpaths/streets are fully restored to the original condition- and that has been the situation in the past and will also be in future too? After all, it’s the same old-“Namma Kudla”?
Also Read Related Report Below:
Digging Never Stops in Mangaluru! Now It’s MESCOM’s Turn
The reason the MCC does not know what is being dug, by whom, and where, is perhaps due to MESCOM being primarily an administrative body, and contracts all it’s works, electrical or civil to Third Party petty contractors, who are chosen Therefore, these petty contractors think MESCOM is a government body, and why would the government body need permission from the MCC, which is just another administrative body. In the USA, one cannot dig even a small hole without prior permission from the electric, gas, and water dept., who personally come, inspect, mark, and approve or disapprove the area inquired… Read more »