The Hindu        08.09.2014  

Dasara: MCC in a scramble to meet Chief Minister’s deadline

: 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