JOIN USMCC to take up 24X7 water supply on its own
The Mangalore City Corporation on Monday received green signal for its 24X7 water supply scheme. The Council okayed the proposal under which the MCC will take up water supply to the city.
The Council decided to drop its earlier plan to supply water round the clock to its 60 wards on PPP mode. The MCC will mobilise funds from its own sources and also from the banks, to implement the scheme.
Earlier, the MCC had mooted 24x7 water supply proposal under PPP mode. The Council had deferred the decision on the proposal. The members in the past had alleged that PPP model was nothing but privatisation of water supply, which would in turn would increase the water tariff, as the private agency would have to invest funds for creating additional infrastructure required for the supply.
However, as per the present proposal the MCC will pool in resources to lay the pipelines and create infrastructure to supply water round the clock.
Awareness
Corporators Shanker Bhat, Deepak Poojary, Naveen D’Souza, Sudhir Shetty, Mariamma Thomas said there has been rise in malaria, dengue, rat fever cases in Dakshina Kannada and Mangalore city. There was a need to take up a permanent solution to contain the outbreak of diseases during monsoon.
They said “fogging is not taken up in the malaria prone areas. The waste disposal mechanism has failed completely. The work on street sweeping is not carried out properly. The health department in the MCC had no officer. ”
To which, the Commissioner Dr Harish Kumar said that “with the help of health officials, door-to-door survey is being carried out in the MCC limits, to check the stagnated water and also to create awareness among the public. Mosquito breeding places were found in 30 per cent of the houses. With the help of NSS volunteers, awareness is being created by distributing pamphlets, handbills and also visiting the schools.”
The Council also proposed the name of Dr Manjayya Shetty, to head malaria cell in the MCC.
The corporators said that drainages are overflowing in many places and manholes are in bad condition. To which, AEE Ganesh said that drainages which were laid 50 years ago exist in several parts of Mangalore.
The Commissioner said that Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) will be made mandatory for all the major projects coming up in the city limits.
Road widening
The Council approved the widening of U P Mallya road, Gadi Chowki Junction to Ganapathy High School, Sharavu Mahaganapathy bylane to K S Rao road, P M Rao Road (Ganapathy High School road to K S Rao Road) and Padil Naguri highway junction to Kankanay railway station. The roads will be developed with the fund of Rs 1,34,64,571 which is available with the MCC.
The said roads were narrow and congested and was creating lot of problems to the commuters, said the agenda of the meeting.
The council also okayed the proposal to hand over Kuloor health centre to Srinivas Institute of Medical and Research Centre, Mukka and Derebail, Bejai and Urwa dispensaries to Karnataka Ayurveda Medical College to maintain them, with certain conditions.
When Corporator Mariamma Thomas raised the issue of increase in number of beggars in the City, the Commissioner said that a drive will be carried out to take them to the Destitute Rehabilitation Centre at Pacchanady. There are nly 100 destitutes at the Centre. The capacity of the Centre is 150.
Mayor Gulzar Banu, Deputy Mayor Amithakala were present.