Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Jul 1: At the general session of the city corporation council held on Monday June 30, the corporators gave their nod for the construction of a new bus stand near Pumpwell in the city, the proposal for which was pending since several years.

The new bus stand is proposed to built in 7.23 acres of land acquired in 2008. City mayor, Mahabala Marla, informed that a sum of three crore rupees had been set aside for the bus stand out of Rs 100 crore being sanctioned by a special scheme of the government to encourage construction of bus stands. He also asked the concerned to prepare designs for a multi-storied building proposed to be built there.

The mayor added that steps to acquire additional land in the area will be taken in future as and when need for the same arises.

An exchange of heated words ensured between Congress and BJP corporators after BJP protested against the increase of house tax by 15 percent affected by the city corporation. The BJP members, who assembled in front of the mayor's chair, asked him to meet his earlier promise to bring down the tax. The mayor said that the corporation had drawn the attention of urban development department that the administrative officer, who was in charge of the corporation during election, had wrongfully affected the hike. 'We are yet to get a reply from the government,' he explained.

BJP corporators, Sudhir Shetty Kannur, Premananda Shetty, Tilak Raj, and others advised the city corporation to try to get government grant instead of raising Rs 160 crore loan from Asian Development Bank for its plan for uninterrupted supply of drinking water in the city limits. The mayor said that the water supply will be managed by the corporation instead of entrusting it to agencies, and hence water rates will not go up even after raising the loan.