Mangalore This Week : Nov 12-18
Weekly Round-up by Anisa Fathima - Daijiworld.com Mangalore
Mangalore, Nov 18: The citizens had a few lessons to give to MCC on the first day of the week when they filled up a huge trench that was left open by MCC engineers. The trench was filled with the help of the police and the corporators.
The apathy of the MCC was clearly evident here. The trench, dug out in one of the busiest road of the city, was posing a grave threat to commuters. Already the roads are in such a state that people are forced to put their lives at stake each time they venture out. Is the MCC so blind as to see that leaving a trench open will not only cause danger but also disrupt traffic? It is the people who are on the receiving end, and now it seems, it is the people who have to take action to ensure their own safety. Any chance of MCC leaving the road repair works to the citizens too? You can never say!
MANGALORE: PEOPLE REPAIR DANGEROUS TRENCH ON ROAD
Is City Prepared for Managing Disasters?
It was a week that opened the public eye to the importance of disaster preparedness. The action packed mock demonstrations of rescue operations by Home Guards and fire brigade personnel stressed on National Disaster Day stressed on the need to be prepared for calamities, and also revealed a few facts that about the state of disaster management in our city.
Unfortunately, the picture is not so bright - the city is hardly prepared for managing disasters, whether man-made or natural. Given the rapid development that the city is going through and the number of shopping malls and high-rise coming up at the pace of light, measures to tackle emergencies and disasters become vital. Also being a coastal area, and the sea-level rising especially during monsoons, we must get prepared for calamities like floods too. Many of the owners of high-rises have failed to install quality equipment to take care of emergencies; it is up to the administration to ensure that they do not escape the law.
MANGALORE: DISASTER PREPAREDNESS LACKING IN DK
MANGALORE: ACTION-PACKED RESCUE OPERATIONS ON DISASTER REDUCTION DAY - IMAGES
Save Kadri Park
Kadri Park was in the news this week, with angry protestors demanding the withdrawal of the order to grant a portion of the park land to ONGC-MRPL for constructing a petrol station. The land had been used for holding motocross events.
Kadri Park has been one of the few spots in the city where one could go and relax or spend a quiet evening with family and friends. Handing a portion of the park to ONGC will not only deny space to those who frequent the park for a ride at land in question, but may also cause health hazards due to the proposed petrol station's proximity to the park. Most people visit the park for a walk and a healthy outing, but if they get the harmful whiff of petrol in their lungs, it might reduce the number of visitors. The petrol station is no doubt necessary, but let it be constructed at a place that would affect neither general public nor public properties.
MANGALORE:`SAVE KADRI PARK' CAMPAIGN GAINS MOMENTUM
Bidi Workers Demand
Meanwhile, the bidi industry was up in arms with the administration demanding the fulfillment of various demands, at a rally in Nehru Maidan here on Thursday November 16.
The bidi industry is probably the most vastly employed in the district, if not in the state. It is also one which has been facing the most number of problems from those who manage it. Being an unorganized sector, the workers have been not giving the facilities they deserve, with not even the provision of minimum wages. When most other sectors have been well-provided, why single out an industry that hires so many people, that too mostly from poor families. However, it does not make sense to demand withdrawal of statutory warning on bidi packs, just as how it doesn’t make sense to consider bidis as machine made products, the way the government has done to impose tax on the industry.
MANGALORE: BEEDI WORKERS' PROTEST RALLY HELD IN CITY - IMAGES
Nagarjuna Power Project Dharna
If it was bidi workers protest in the city, it was Nagarjuna power project dharna in Udupi. Objection to the proposed project reached a zenith when leaders, elected representatives and locals marched into the streets even as the administration began work on the project.
Consequently, along with the arrest of over 500 protestors, section 144 was imposed and Kaup had to face bandh on Saturday November 18.
Despite section 144 being imposed, work on the power plant continued. The project has been under repeated attack from those who advocate their concerns for the environment. If they stopped to think, they might realise the importance and the necessity of the project to the coastal area. Not only will it boost development, it will also provide jobs and solve the acute problem of electricity the region has been facing. With more and more companies coming up, shortage of power will only worsen if the project is not allowed to come up. Environment should of course be taken care of, and the power company has to ensure minimum risk to the surrounding areas. Those who talk about environmental concerns must look around their own surroundings first - at the numerous garbage bins and the state of the rivers.
UDUPI: NAGARJUNA ROW - OVER 500 PEOPLE ARRESTED - KAUP BUNDH ON NOV 18
Earlier Weeks