First official Council meet a hectic affair

DOG MENACE

Though many councillors, cutting across party lines, spoke about the street dog menace, neither the Mayor nor the Health Standing Committee had anything to offer as consolation.

‘‘The guidelines of the Supreme Court have to be respected, we will take action within the guidelines,’’ was the Mayor’s response.

Valiathura councillor Tony Oliver said that he had noticed vehicles from Tamil Nadu dumping street dogs in his ward, to which the Mayor said that the issue could have been let known to the Corporation earlier.

Respective councillors must take the action to let know the situation in their wards at the Corporation office, so that action can be taken, she said. However, she remained silent on the kind of action she meant to take.

Meanwhile, the UDF could not garner any support on the issue from the BJP. P Asok Kumar, senior BJP leader, said that an all-party meeting was called to discuss the issue and steps had been taken. ‘’Then why is the precious Council time being wasted,’’ he asked.

That the public will have to continue bearing the menace was clear from the mood of the Council.

ROADS

The Council will ask the State Government to provide a fund of Rs 5 crore as assistance for the development of roads in the city. A resolution introduced by Works Committee Chairman V S Padmakumar asked the Government to provide the money from its flood relief fund.

Kesavadasapuram councillor George Louis said that life was hell in his ward with the ongoing road works there.

‘’The issue is so grave that there is no time to deal with any other matter. The scene is that of a battle field there,’’ he said.

‘’The method of road work adopted in Nalanchira is not scientific and needs to be reviewed,’’ he said.

UDF member Maheswaran Nair said that the contractors making errors and lapses in the completion of road works must be removed and their contracts suspended.

The Council passed more than 19 resolutions in the Works Committee agenda for road development works.

Mayor K Chandrika said that the rains were the villains, the State having continuous rainfall for the last many months. But steps have been taken to repair the roads soon, she said.

SHIPBUILDING YARD

A shipbuilding yard on the model of the one in Kochi must be built in Thiruvananthapuram, ahead of constructing the mother port at Vizhinjam, BJP leader Asok Kumar said in a resolution. He said that the Union Government was learnt to be toying with the idea of sanctioning a shipbuilding yard in the South of the country.

The neighbouring states have already begun lobbying to take the project to their states. The State Government must be pressurised to take a favourable position to enable the coming of a shipbuilding yard in the district so that the Vizhinjam project can benefit out of it, he said.

‘GIVE US CLASSES’

The two independent councillors in the Council, Vijayakumar (Sreekariyam) and Sureshkumar (Manikyavilakom), said that the new councillors need more classes on the Council proceedings.  ‘’In many issues, we do not know what stand to take and when to interfere – we need classes,’’ Vijayakumar said.

It was evident from the way many councillors intervened in the proceedings and the way some kept quiet that Council matters are proving to be Greek to many of them.

Vijayakumar said that the two independent councillors must be invited  when all-party meetings are called by the Mayor.