Remove circles eating up space, MCC told

Various circles in Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) limits have added to the traffic congestion in the city by eating up valuable space, former MLA Vijaykumar Shetty said.

Speaking to reporters after inspecting various circles in the city, he said that circles in important junctions in the city take up huge space, thus hindering the smooth movement of vehicles.

Citing the new Mallikatte circle as an example, Vijaykumar Shetty said that even though the MCC was alerted during the construction of the circle, authorities turned a deaf ear. “The officials are entirely responsible for the traffic chaos taking place now,” he remarked.

After visiting the Hampankatte Clock Tower Circle which is under construction, he said that expense incurred on the Clock Tower was unnecessary.

“The estimated budget for the tower is Rs 91 lakh and Rs 30 lakh is spent for the clock alone. Taxpayers’ money should not be misused in such a way. A lot of people, including district in-charge secretary and Mangaluru Smart City high power steering committee member V Ponnuraj, had raised objections to the clock tower. Nandigudda and A B Shetty circles too have used up a lot of money,” he pointed out. He visited Lady Hill and Marnamikatte circles also.

MCC must follow the Bunts Hostel Circle model, which is built using less space, Shetty said.

Shetty pointed out that traffic on major roads in Bengaluru had improved after removing unnecessary circles. He added that he would urge the district in-charge minister and the chief minister to have problematic circles removed.