The Hindu 08.09.2014
Dasara: MCC in a scramble to meet Chief Minister’s deadline
He had set a September 18 deadline for completing civil works
: The Mysore City Corporation (MCC) is racing against
time to meet the September 18 deadline for completing the ongoing civic
works ahead of the Dasara.
The MCC will take up 55
works related to road repairs across the city at a cost of Rs. 5 crore,
while the Mysore Urban Development Authority will initiate similar works
at a cost of Rs. 5 crore. The repair works will be taken up for major
roads, including the procession route and main roads around places of
tourist interest and the palace.
Work on the ‘Raja
Marga’ — including drainage works and laying of tiles — will be
completed during the week, while large gaps at electrical junctions are
being filled up and the tile laying works are expected to be over within
the next four days, according to MCC Commissioner C.G. Betsurmath.
He
visited the sites where the civic works pertaining to the much-maligned
‘Raja Marga’ were in progress. The money due to the contractor that was
held up was being released in instalments. Hence, there was brisk
progress, though the project as a whole was lagging behind schedule by
more than a year, according to senior officials in the MCC.
The
rush is in order to comply with the Chief Minister’s deadline, as he
had cautioned officials of disciplinary action if the works were not
ready by September 19.
Seating arrangements at the
Town Hall, which is being reinstalled, is nearing completion. However,
debris dumped behind the Town Hall, which had come in for scathing
criticism for violating the heritage site, is being removed, Mr.
Betsurmath said. The entire area will be cleared of debris and levelled
to make it fit for parking before Dasara, he said.
New
civic works including a water supply line to Kuppana Park, which is the
venue for the Dasara Flower Show this year, was sanctioned by the
Commissioner. Similarly, power lines are being extended to facilitate
illumination for the event and these will be completed by September 12,
said Mr. Betsurmath.
Soon after inspecting the sites,
the Commissioner convened a meeting with the Health Department staff to
launch a garbage clearance drive. “In addition to the 682 pourakarmikas
who are on the MCC’s rolls, we have outsourced 1,600 pourkarmikas and
the work will be apportioned equally,” he added.
MCC to take up 55 works related to road repairs
1,600 additional pourakarmikas outsourced
