Urban News

Source : The Hindu Date : 28.06.2009

CMC authorities not cooperating in probe’

Staff Correspondent

Bijapur: Owing to the lack of cooperation from the Bijapur City Municipal Council authorities and staff, the police have been unable to trace the miscreants responsible for the attack on CMC meeting hall on June 23. The police have interrogated 14 persons in connection with the incident including Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S) State unit secretary Bandenawaz Mahabari, who led the protest to demand proper drinking water supply in the city on the day of the incident. The police also interrogated four other JD(S) workers.

Anti-social elements had made an attempt to set fire to the City Municipal Council (CMC) president’s chair at the meeting hall during a protest rally organised by the Janata Dal (S) district unit to bring pressure to bear on the CMC authorities to supply drinking water regularly.

Additional Superintendent of Police F.A. Trasgar told The Hind u that police officials were unable to make any progress in the case because of the non-cooperation of the CMC authorities and councillors. It would not be possible to trace the culprits without their support, he added.

Though it was the responsibility of the CMC authorities to restrict entry of unauthorised persons into the meeting hall, the police had suspended sub-inspector Brijesh Mathew on charges of dereliction of duty. However, the CMC authorities had not initiated any action against the staff responsible for maintaining the meeting hall and the documents, he said.

The CMC councillors, who were present during the incident, had been avoiding police officials, he added.

Only Clue

Mr. Trasgar said that the only available clue with the police was a video clipping taken during the JD(S) protest in which three unidentified persons were seen walking about outside the CMC meeting hall.

However, both the CMC authorities and the JD(S) workers were unable identify these persons during the interrogation as their faces were not clear in the video clipping, he said.

Source : The Hindu Date : 28.06.2009

Rs. 616 lakh surplus budget for Belgaum city corporation

Staff Correspondent

Belgaum: The Chairman of the Standing Committee for Taxation, Finance and Appeals, Pandhari P. Parab, presented a surplus budget of Rs. 616.16 lakh for the Belgaum City Corporation (BCC) here on Thursday.

However, Mayor Yallappa Sidraj Kubar adjourned the meeting to June 29 at the old building of the corporation when corporators from ruling and opposition groups staged a protest over poor quality of construction work on the new corporation building. The corporators got angry when the budget speech of Mr. Parab became inaudible as it was echoing.

Presenting a revised budget of 2008-09 and estimates for 2009-10 at the corporation council’s first meeting for this financial year, Mr. Parab proposed to raise Rs. 9,697.04 lakh of revenue receipts and Rs. 1,345 lakh of capital receipts. Thus, the overall receipts expected during the year accounted for Rs. 11,042.04 lakh.

The corporation proposed to spend Rs. 10,492.88 lakh on various projects, including the welfare of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, he said.

The total revenue anticipated during 2009-10 accounted for Rs. 9,697.04 lakh and the revised estimate for 2008-09 had been put at Rs. 9,403.97 lakh through various grants and receipts, he said. The corporation proposed to spend Rs. 5 lakh on cow-dung cakes for cremation of bodies to minimise pollution and cutting of trees.

The corporation proposed to purchase new cars for the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor and two hearse vans, Mr. Parab said.