Residents meet Police Commissioner on Civic Issues on Suvarna Lane/Valencia
Mangaluru: Couple of weeks ago, the residents living on Suvarna Lane/Valencia, on Kankanady-Valencia Road had complained to the Mayor and also other district authorities about city officials changing the storm water plan favouring a owner of a private building- while that issue is till being looked over by the Mayor and other concerned authorities, the residents of the same area have come forward with many other civic issues, ranging from drug addicts, illegal parking, public nuisance etc taking place in the narrow Suvarna Lane, which starts from Kankanady side and stretches all the way to Bajjodi area- and being that they have two area Ward corporators- namely Asha D’silva and Alfred Jacintha. And every time they have problems in their lane, the residents are left in the dark, as the corporators avoid saying that the issue don’t come under their area. Oh well!
To put forth their grievances and highlight some of their civic issue a bevy of residents met the Police commissioner T R Suresh, and also Additional deputy Commissioner and Additional Magistrate Sri Kumar KAS, and handed over their memorandum. Expressing her grievances 81-year- old Dorothy Albuquerque who has been a resident of the area for four decades speaking to the Police Commissioner said, ” It’s been a hassle to walk in Suvarna lane. Students, look like they are from the near Medical college park their two-wheelers, and smoke cigarettes and other stuff. They don’t even have the courtesy to give way for the elderly when we pass by the lane, instead stay right in middle of the lane. Many times auto-rickshaw drivers are hesitant to come to the area because of all these inconveniences for them. If these youth happen to be medical students, I am worried as to what kind of doctors they would be, who give no respect to the seniors. I only hope Sir, that you would bring some changes in this area and stop all these illegal activities going on in our Lane”.
Social Rights Activist Jerald Towers said, ” My relative keeps on bugging me that I should file a complain to the concerned law enforcement officials about the drug abuse going on in this Lane. Also when these students and others park their vehicles in this narrow lane, it has been a hectic time for the residents to commute. Sometime these youth behave like abnormal people. Plus the clients who patronize the private commercial complex at the entrance of the Lane, also create lot of inconvenience to move around. Police should look into this issue and cancel the licence of the building owners who have no parking space of their own.”
Yet another resident of the Lane, Ronald D’souza, a Retired engineer from BSNL said, “Suvarna Lane already being a narrow lane, we see students from the nearby Medical College park their two-wheelers in the lane, since their college doesn’t allow them to park it inside the college premises. And in case, if emergency vehicles come to our area they find it hard to pass through the narrow lane, most of it taken by these parked vehicles. And also due to this congested parked vehicles, many a times residents face problems reaching home during such traffic snarls. We have also come to know that many youth smoke ganja and other paraphernalia in the lane, once it gets darker in the evening. Our humble request to the concerned authorities to look into this and stop all the illegal activities going on in our Ward”.
In the meantime, according to Prasanna, also a resident of the area said that they are planning a campaign to alert the Mangaluru City Corporation and other departments to take action on drug peddlers and illegal parking. “We have started collecting signatures from the residents pertaining to various civic issues in the area and we will submit it to the Mayor, Police Commissioner, local MLA, and other concerned authorities in the nearest future” added Prasanna.
In response to the complaints posed to him by the residents when they met him, he assured that he will take suitable measures to curb all these illegal activities, and that he would depute one of the police officers to meet the residents and go from there. Also the Additional DC assured that he will look into the matter and forward the issues to the concerned authorities to take action. Meanwhile, Mayor Kavitha Sanil has also said that stern action would be taken if the road in encroached by private parties, and that police should also take necessary steps if there is traffic violations in the area. And in the meantime, the residents of Suvarna Lane near Kankanady/Valencia are still waiting for the senior police officer to show up and do the needful, as promised by the Police commissioner.
Also Read Related Article:
‘MCC Officials Changed Storm Water Drain Plan Favouring Private Bldg’- Valencia Residents