Debris on Town Hall premises mars its beauty

For those looking to dump building debris, plastic bottles and metal chairs can now head to the dumping ground near the Town Hall in Mangaluru.

You will find that the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) had been using a part of Town Hall premises as a dumping yard to dump plastic banners, water bottles, papers, boxes, plastic crates, wooden pieces among others.

After the Town Hall was renovated on November 14, 2015, the debris, discarded seats and certain items used for the construction were dumped in the premises. The heaps of wastes have become an eyesore not only to the residents of the city but also to those who visit Town Hall in order to participate and attend cultural and other programs.

With powers-that-be evincing no interest on clearing the debris Town Hall, the dumped garbage has been piling up. All the materials seized during the eviction drive against street vendors were found dumped at the dump yard. Even the illegal hoardings and flexes had found a place among the heap.

“Town Hall, which is a hub of cultural activities, seems to have become a dumping yard. MCC has turned a blind eye to the dumping of debris on its premises,” said an organiser of a programme. “We speak of Smart City and Swaccha Bharath. Unfortunately, we have failed to take up cleanliness drive in the area surrounding the Town Hall, an iconic building playing hosts to many programs,” says Kavitha, a frequent visitor to the Town Hall.

Even after watching mounds of debris piling up at the premises for the past many months, the authorities are yet to wake up, she added. When contacted, MCC Mayor K Bhaskar said; “The MCC will make arrangement to clear the debris dumped on the Town Hall premises shortly.”