Mayor Sudheer Shetty (R) and Deputy Mayor Sunitha (L).
Credit: Special Arrangement
BJP leaders Sudheer Shetty Kannur, representing the Kodialbail ward, and Sunitha from the Panambur-Bengre ward were elected as Mangaluru Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively on Friday.
The Deputy Mayor was elected unanimously as the opposition Congress did not have any candidate to field for the post.
The election to the two posts were conducted as per the reservation roster set for the 24th mayoral term.
Accordingly, the post of Mayor was reserved for the General Category while the post of Deputy Mayor was reserved for a women from the SC category.
The BJP had won the elections to the 60-member Council held on November 12, 2019, by winning 44 wards against the Congress's 14. The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) had won the remaining two seats.
Sudheer Shetty won 47 votes (including votes of DK MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and two MLAs D Vedavyasa Kamath and Dr Y Bharath Shetty) while Congress candidate Naveen R D’Souza won 14 seats. SDPI corporators remained neutral.
Sudheer Shetty is a three-time corporator. He had served as the Chief Whip in the council of the city corporation and was the president of the standing committee too. Shetty is also serving as the BJP district general secretary.
Deputy Mayor Sunitha, meanwhile, is an Asha worker and a first-time corporator.
Seven members each to the standing committee on taxation, health town planning and accounts were elected unanimously on the occasion.
To complete water supply infra
Addressing a gathering after the election, the newly-elected mayor said that he will try to get approval and complete the work on the proposal to take up works on additional water augmentation and water supply infrastructure at Adyar.
Water will be lifted from the Harekala-Adyar dam by constructing a water treatment tank, jackwell, and additional water supply lines to the city. Once the proposal is completed, the city will get an additional 125 MLD of water which will help in mitigating the water crisis, he said.
Shetty promised to work towards comprehensive development of the city despite having several challenges to face including deficit rainfall and the resultant depletion of water storage in the Thumbe vented dam.
He said that his core area of focus will be on health, sanitation, water supply and providing basic infrastructure facilities to the citizens.
He said that he will give emphasis on people-friendly administration. All the works will be carried out in a transparent manner without giving scope to any form of corruption.
Shetty added that the Mangaluru City Corporation will be developed as a model city corporation. The smart city works, UGD works under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme will be accelerated.
“All 60 corporators will be taken into confidence while taking up development works in the MCC limits,” he said.