‘Provide Houses for the Poor-Control Dengue/Malaria in City’- Opposition Congress Corporators in the MCC Council Urge Mangaluru City Corporation Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur during the Council Meeting
Mangaluru: The Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) Council meeting witnessed an uproar over the opposition demanding details from the Mayor on the number of houses given to the poor. The local MLA Vedavyas Kamath has failed to complete the projects, they said, which led to commotion and exchange of words between the ruling and opposition councillors. A fuming Chief Whip in the Council Premanand Shetty alleged that the issue has been raised for political purposes, and nothing else, instead let the Mayor convene a meeting at his chamber to discuss the housing projects, and not waste time during this council meeting arguing.
Leader of Opposition in Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) Praveen Chandra Alva raised the issue saying that several poor people were approaching the corporators seeking houses for them. But, the corporation has failed to provide houses to the poor for the last six years. The MLA of the constituency too had failed to provide the houses to the poor. He said, “When I got elected as corporator for the first time, title deeds were distributed to 900 homeless people which gave me real happiness. But, later, in six years none received a house. What is the MLA doing?” he questioned.
BJP corporators Jagadish Shetty and Shakila Kava charged that the opposition party members were spreading falsehood. “How can you be happy without providing housing facilities for the poor?” they questioned. “It does not come under the Mayor’s powers. The former MLA distributed title deeds without approval from the government in Shakthinagar eyeing elections,” the ruling BJP corporators said.
In reply, Corporator Alva said, “It is a problem of the poor people. Union and State governments should join hands to construct houses for the poor. But, how many houses did the present MLA construct for the homeless? We are not indulging in any politics here. But, we are discussing the problem of the homeless. If you cannot provide houses to the poor, our government is in power and we will make a provision to provide houses for the poor,”
To a question by a Councillor stating that Mangalore One service centres are rejecting Aadhaar update applications certified by councillors, Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur asked the Commissioner of Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) C.L. Anand to summon the operators of Mangalore One service centres and seek an explanation why they are rejecting application forms for address change duly certified by councillors for updating Aadhar details. BJP councillor from Pachchanady Sangeetha R. Nayk told the council that post offices and cyber centres accept the applications certified by councillors. But Mangalore One centres are rejecting the same applications on the pretext that the councillors have not imposed their seal properly on the photographs of applicants pasted on the application forms.
“When the applicants produce the same applications at post offices and cyber centres they are accepted. Why are Mangalore One centres rejecting them,” she asked. Kannur said that he too has received complaints from people on the same and he asked the Commissioner to take suitable action on the same. Congress councillor Naveen R. D’Souza told the council that traffic jams at major traffic junctions in the city have become common with the police, particularly the Police Commissioner, not taking it seriously. “It appears that the Police Commissioner is not interested in easing traffic snarls at junctions,” he said.
Stressing the need to hold a meeting to address traffic issues by inviting all stakeholders, Naveen D’Souza, a former Leader of the Opposition in the council, said that the corporation should take the lead in holding traffic meetings at regular intervals. D’Souza said that the National Highways Authority of India (NHA) has still not filled up a huge pothole near Nanthoor junction. The same pothole resulted in an accident leading to the death of a two-wheeler rider sometime ago, he said.
Responding to it, the Mayor said that he will call the meeting next month. The experts from the National Institute of Technology – Karnataka (NIT-K) will also be called to the meeting to give their suggestions, he said. Former Mayor and Congress councillor M. Shashidhar Shetty reiterated the need to constitute a committee of experts, including private medical practitioners, to bring the increasing dengue cases in the city under control. Hegde who represented Derebail (South) (No. 24) ward said that 15 dengue cases have been reported from his ward alone. The corporation could control malaria in the city effectively by forming a committee of experts, Mr Hegde said.