Congress members in MCC oppose Shivaji statue in Mangaluru

Opposition leader of the MCC Naveen D’Souza took the BJP to task for deciding to install the statue citing the stand of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti against Karnataka

The Opposition Congress members in Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) council raised objections to the proposal of installing a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the city.

The council, in its meeting on October 29, had approved an agenda of installing a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji at Mahaveera Circle (Pumpwell Circle) as requested by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maratha Association at a meeting held on October 29.

At a council meeting chaired by Mayor Jayanand Anchan on Wednesday, Opposition leader of the MCC Naveen D’Souza took the BJP to task for deciding to install the statue citing the stand of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) against Karnataka.

He said that the road in Pumpwell Circle where the statue is supposed to be installed has Shree Brahma Baidarkala Garadi Kshetra dedicated to Koti Chennayya. Instead of Shivaji, the statue of Koti Chennayya can be installed.

Corporator Shashidhar Hegde said there are several freedom fighters from the region and their statues can also be installed. The ruling BJP corporators accused the Congress of opposing the installation of statues of all Hindu leaders.

Chief Whip in the Council Premananda Shetty said that objections by the Opposition were documented when the proposal was approved in last month’s meeting.

Fresh tender for LEDs

Mangaluru City Corporation has decided to float a fresh tender for the government’s ambitious plan to install LED street lights in Mangaluru, said MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar. The concessionaire had failed to complete within the time frame.

As per the EoT, the work on the installation must have been completed by November 30. However, only 20 per cent of the works have been completed so far in 60 wards in the MCC limits. A meeting under the chairmanship of the District-in-Charge Minister attended by the District-in-Charge Secretary, Secretary to the department of Urban Development and MCC Commissioner has decided to float a re-tender for the work.

The process has been initiated and tender will be floated within two weeks. Further, the MCC has sought permission from the directorate of Municipal Administration seeking exemption to replace the faulty LED lamps in the wards till the new contractor takes up the work on installing LED streetlights.

As per the project, all street lights in the 60 wards will be converted into LEDs with a centralised automatic switching point system under the Smart City Mission (SCM) through PPP (Public Private Partnership) mode.

The MCC expects to save at least 50 per cent of the electricity bill on street lights with the completion of the project. The MCC has more than 65,870 streetlights, according to a survey.