BJP corporators walk out of MCC meet

BJP corporators walked out of the council meeting of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), during the continued general meeting on Tuesday, as Deputy Mayor Mahadevamma defered the decision on the proposal of former minister S A Ramdas’ Aasare Foundation to maintain Harischandra Ghat at the foot of Chamundi Hill.

The deputy mayor chaired the meeting as Mayor R Lingappa was absent.
The Foundation had sought to develop and maintain the crematorium, which includes a gas-based crematorium, 26 platforms to cremate bodies with firewood, one overhead water tank, one pump house and three shelters.

The proposal had been discussed by the Town Planning and Development Standing Committee of the MCC and forwarded to the general council for final approval, with certain conditions.

The standing committee had recommended handing over only 105.5 metre X 100 metre portion of the firewood-based crematorium to the Foundation and to retain the rest of it under the control of the MCC.

“However, the ownership of the whole crematorium lies with the MCC. The Foundation should be bound by the advise and directions of the MCC in matters of development and maintenance.

The Foundation should not collect any fees from the people for the services. The MCC can withdraw the crematorium from the foundation at any point of time, if the maintenance is found unsatisfactory. They should maintain cleanliness and hygiene on the premises of the crematorium,” the standing committee had suggested.

Corporator S Sathish (Sandesh Swamy) of the JD(S) raised the issue and said, “It is better to entrust the crematorium to the former minister’s fFundation or pass a ruling in the Council that it will be maintained well by the MCC itself. While the BJP corporators supported the proposal, the Congress members opposed it.”

Ward 4 Corporator N Sunil Kumar said, “It is not right to handover the MCC’s facility to a Foundation promoted by a particular political party leader as the MCC has already executed works worth Rs 65 lakh at the crematorium and many other works were underway.”

Few corporators claimed that neither such crematoriums nor burial grounds have been entrusted by the MCC to outsiders, some members said, the MCC can offer other crematoriums, which are in a shambles, to the Foundation of Ramdas for maintenance.

As the Council failed to arrive at a consensus on the issue, the deputy mayor ruled that it can be taken up in the next meeting. Dismayed, BJP members, led by Preetham Nandish, walked out of the council meet.

Even though Sathish urged the deputy mayor to send someone to convince the BJP members and bring them back, but in vain.