Urban Development Minister B A Basavaraj takes officials to task

Urban Development Minister B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) on Saturday expressed unhappiness with Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) for not releasing compensation to displaced families and failing to build a retaining wall in order to prevent the sliding of huge mounds of garbage at Pachhanady dumping yard on the city’s outskirts.

“You have to do something,” he said before fixing a May 30 deadline for MCC officials.

The victims of the garbage landslide complained to the minister that none of the officials had evinced any interest in their plight. The promises made repeatedly by the elected representatives had not yielded any results.

Ganesh, a resident of Mandara, which is still buried under garbage mounds, demanded a fresh survey as those partially affected by the garbage slide would get more compensation under the present survey.

“Though the administration has provided us temporary shelter at housing board colony in Kulshekhar, we need a permanent solution for the problem," said Rajesh Bhat who has been thrown to the streets.

Minister Basavaraj took officials to task and directed them to expedite the relief work.

"Strict action will be taken against officials who fail to discharge their responsibilities,”  he warned.

MCC Mayor Divakar Pandeshwar, MLAs Dr Bharath Shetty, Vedavyas Kamath and MCC Commissioner Shanady Ajit Kumar were also present.