Dirty markets anger Siddaiah

Multi-storeyed car parking facility likely at Russel Market

The decisions to this effect was taken after Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Siddaiah visited these areas on Saturday. The Palike engineers were taken to task by the Commissioner on noticing the market areas in shambles with piles of garbage and stinking toilets.

Siddaiah observed that the toilets were dirty and lighting arrangements were poor in Russel Market which had no parking space for the visitors. The traders, who complained that BBMP’s sanitary workers rarely cleaned the area, suggested that the government land in the vicinity be utilised for parking.

In his reply, Siddaiah said he would look into the possibilities of multi-storeyed parking area at Russel Market. He directed Chief Engineer (Market) Prakash to appoint a consultant agency to study the number of persons and vehicles coming to the area and prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for building a multi-storeyed parking facility. Once the DPR is ready it will be tabled before the Council for approval, he added.

Plight of KR market was no different when the commissioner visited. The basement of the complex where vehicles are parked, has turned into a urinal and was littered with vegetable garbage.

The Commissioner immediately constituted a committee of the executive engineers of project, environment, horticulture, electricity and ward engineers to ensure cleanliness on day to day basis.

He also noticed the one-lakh square feet space remaining vacant for the past 13 years on the second floor of the building without generating any revenue for BBMP. He consulted the Palike engineers on providing a ramp to the second floor to make the best possible utilisation of the space. Sources said, a tender is likely to be floated soon.

When the vegetable vendors complained that there around 80 tonnes of vegetable garbage generated everyday was not cleared Siddaiah directed the BBMP engineers to install at least 10 machines to convert vegetable garbage into manure. 

Siddaiah, after inspecting the work in progress on the pedestrian underpass in front of the Town Hall for the last two years, told the contractors to complete the project by August end.

Contractors rapped

The Commissioner took the contractors of the Puttenahalli and Kadirenahalli underpass projects to task for delay.

He instructed the Kadirenahalli underpass contractor to commission the project by October. The residents, who have lost the land for the project, demanded compensation as per the guidance value fixed by the government.

The Commissioner assured them that negotiation may take place for better compensation.

The contractor of Puttenahalli underpass was at the receiving end as the Commissioner pulled him up for delaying the project. He threatened to blacklist his company.