Vacant sites will now be pretty sights

If authorities act with committment and determination, vacant sites, that make for a rather scary sight; can now present a pretty picture. Going by the stern orders issued by none other than Deputy Commissioner Harsh Gupta, citizens can expect the city to don a look that goes with its ‘cultural capital’ status.

This can come as a relief to majority of residents living in newly formed layouts which have more vacant sites than built houses. The owners of the sites, for reasons best known to them, somehow do not seem to appreciate the fact that their piece of land needs to be clean. It need not turn into a safe haven for mosquitoes, insects of various types and most importantly, the reptiles such as snakes.

But, this is exactly what is happening. In areas like Ramakrishna Nagar, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Vijayanagar, AIISH Layout etc, the proud owners of the sites have deemed it fit to turn oblivious to the fact that their property is bothering someone, really bad.

According to the instructions issued by the DC, site owners will be given some time to clear the space on their own. If they fail to do so, the authorities will act upon this, and levy some fine on the site owner.

“I have requested my neighbour many a times to clear up the site. Our children are always tempted to venture into that empty plot, for they find it exciting. But, I am worried it may have snakes in it!” says Chandrakala Siddappa, a mother of two boys.

One of them suffered a case of insect bite or some kind of allergy, which demanded hospitalisation. With her husband working in Bangalore, Chandrakala was at the end of her tether when it happened. “I was so angry and helpless at the same time. Had the site owner cared enough to keep his plot clean, my son would have been spared of that horrible experience,” she adds.

What stops the owners from acting on this? “Sheer callousness,” retorts Kushalappa, a resident of Vijayanagar. “Some of the owners may stay in different town, alright. But, will they show the same indiffirence if someone encroaches their site? Won’t they come running? Why can’t they care for their future neighbours or fellow beings?” he asks.

When contacted, MUDA Commissioner P C Jayanna said the Mysore Urban Development Authority was taking all steps to act as per DC’s orders. “We will execute the orders in those layouts which come under us.

The ones which are under MCC, civic body will take care of those,” he said. When asked about the amount of penalty, Jayanna said MUDA would also go by those rates fixed by MCC, regarding the issue.