Pics: Spoorthi Ullal

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Feb 27: The last general meeting of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) under the current five-year term turned chaotic on Thursday, marked by heated exchanges between the ruling and opposition members. While the opposition accused the BJP-led administration of failing to achieve anything in five years, the ruling party countered by blaming the Congress government in the state for withholding funds.

The meeting, chaired by mayor Manoj Kumar, began with a question-answer session that soon spiraled into a loud argument, lasting over two and a half hours, with members raising their voices to the point where microphones seemed at risk of breaking.

After the rendition of the state anthem, the mayor ratified the minutes of the previous meeting and opened the floor for questions.

Opposition leader Anil Kumar initiated the discussion by pointing out that the BJP-led administration’s five-year term was ending that day. He claimed that Rs 300 crore had been spent on underground drainage (UGD) projects, yet for nearly three years, the opposition had been highlighting UGD mismanagement in the city, which the administration had failed to rectify.

He further alleged that sewage was still flowing into stormwater drains, contractors were not performing their duties properly, and despite a Rs 797 crore allocation for the 24x7 drinking water project under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the project remained incomplete even after five years. Not a single ward had received round-the-clock water supply, and completion would take another three to four years. Pipelines had been procured but not installed, and purchased meters had been left unused, gathering rust. He criticized officials for lacking oversight and concluded that the MCC’s five-year administration had been a failure.

Interrupting him, opposition member Shakeela Kava accused the ruling party of making politically motivated statements in the council. Praveen Chandra Alva and Vinay Raj alleged that not a single house had been provided to the poor under the MCC’s administration. They also criticized the BJP-led government for increasing water tariffs and self-assessed property tax rates, despite having a “triple-engine government” at the state, centre, and MCC levels.

In response, ruling party members, including chief whip Premanand Shetty, Jagadish, Poornima, and Sangeeta Nayak, defended the administration, claiming that it had provided good governance. They argued that after the Congress government came to power in the state two years ago, not a single rupee had been allocated for development, and the government was instead focused on frequent transfers of officials.

As opposition members continued their criticisms, ruling party members stood up and countered with allegations against them. The debate turned into a shouting match, with both sides hurling accusations at each other. At one point, opposition members, led by their leader, walked up to the mayor’s chair, protesting that their right to speak was being denied. By then, nearly one and a half hours had passed. Despite ringing the bell to restore order, the mayor walked out of the council hall without formally adjourning the meeting. Ruling party members followed suit.

About 15 minutes later, the mayor re-entered the hall with the deputy mayor and other members, stating that the session had been intended for members to share their views on the five-year administration. However, due to persistent allegations from the opposition, the meeting had to be postponed. At this point, opposition members countered that they were simply stating facts and accused the ruling party of attempting to silence their voices.

Chief whip Premanand Shetty alleged that the opposition had deliberately disrupted the final meeting and remarked that since an administrator would take over from the next day, they should now run the administration themselves. He provocatively stated that no developmental work had been undertaken in the state since the Congress government came to power.

Opposition members, however, refused to back down. Praveen Chandra Alva asserted that the BJP-led MCC had achieved nothing in five years and was now resorting to blaming the state government. He claimed that people would soon give them a fitting response. The heated exchanges continued, leading to further disruptions in the council.

Despite mayor Manoj Kumar’s attempts to restore order and assure everyone that they would be given a chance to speak, members from both sides remained engaged in verbal clashes. Senior member Shashidhar Hegde advised that, as it was the last meeting, the mayor should allow the opposition leader to speak in full before responding. However, the meeting remained disorderly.

During the chaos, MLC Ivan D’Souza attempted to speak but was unable to do so due to the ongoing arguments. Frustrated, he left the meeting.

Once again intervening, Premanand Shetty insisted that despite significant development work being carried out by both central and state governments under BJP rule, the opposition was trying to politicize the final meeting. He claimed that people would see through their tactics.

Praveen Chandra Alva retorted that the public was indeed watching, accusing the BJP of squandering Rs 1,000 crore under the Smart City project and failing to complete even a 1 km stretch of the Riverfront project.

As the mayor attempted to pacify the members, opposition leaders demanded that their leader be allowed to speak first. They gathered near the mayor’s chair in protest. With arguments escalating again, the mayor finally announced a lunch break and adjourned the meeting at around 1.30 pm.

Deputy mayor Bhanumathi, commissioner Ravichandra Nayak, standing committee chairpersons Veena Mangal, Kadri Manohar Shetty, Sumitra, and Saritha Shashidhar were present at the meeting.

Meeting resumes, administrative decisions passed

When the session resumed at 3.30 pm, despite continued opposition protests, some administrative decisions were approved. One key decision was to hand over the maintenance of the Gujjarkere lake in Bolara ward to the Hale Kote Mariamma Temple administration to ensure water quality and cleanliness.

Additionally, the council resolved to finalize objections and suggestions for two sub-rules related to ward committees and forward them to the state government for approval.

Naming proposals approved

• The service road from Pumpwell Junction towards Ullal on NH-66 was approved for renaming as Veerarani Abbakka Road following a request from MLA Vedavyas Kamath and local MCC member Sandeep Garodi.
• The junction where roads from Bunts Hostel, Hampankatta, and Shivaram Karanth Road converge was renamed Dr B R Ambedkar Circle.
• The road in Valencia-Ujjodi ward was approved for renaming as Bomanna Poojary Road following a request from council member Sandeep.
• The Karavali Junction in Kankanady was renamed Sri Satya Saramani Circle, based on a request from the Karnataka State Adi Dravida Social Welfare Association.
• The new concrete road from Manasa Mantapa near Urwa Store bus stand to Swami Ayyappa Bhakta Samiti Katte (Daddalkad Cross) was named Sri Mahaganapati Temple Road, following a request from ward member Ganesh and the Sri Mahaganapati Seva Samiti.
• The road from Kodikal to Dekadi in Alape ward was renamed Vaidyanath Road, based on a proposal from member Roopashree Poojary.
• The Santosh Nagar central playground in Pachchanadi was handed over to the Veer Savarkar Friends Association for maintenance and cleanliness.

Despite the initial chaos, the council eventually managed to clear these resolutions before concluding the session.