Deccan Herald               21.01.2014

Mayor refuses to stop KR Market renovation

 Mayor B S Satyanarayana on Monday said the BBMP could not allow the KR Market to be ruined “only to benefit a few encroachers.” 

With BBMP renovating the market from Monday, traders, who have encroached upon the pavement, reached the Palike office with local MLA B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, arguing that any renovation plan would badly affect their livelihood.

After listening to them, Satyanarayana said work would start on Wednesday at any cost. The Palike on Monday deferred its KR Market renovation plan for the second time on account of protests. The work, which should have begun last Friday, was deferred due to protests by traders. The renovation is based on a design given by Prakash Belawadi and eminent architect Naresh Venkataraman.  Belawadi and Venkataraman had given a presentation in BBMP Council.

The Hindu              21.01.2014

Thrissur to be made hunger-free: Mayor

The Thrissur Corporation will implement a project to make the city hunger-free, Mayor Rajan Pallan has said.

The project will be implemented with the support of voluntary agencies. “The project will not put the corporation to a lot of expenses. The corporation will provide the space for distributing food. It is yet to be identified,” he told reporters here on Monday.

He said the project would benefit those who roam the streets, starving.

“They will be given lunch. They will have to eat the food where it is distributed. To prevent accumulation of waste, they will not be allowed to take the food elsewhere,” he said.

A slew of people-friendly projects were being drawn up. “The projects initiated by former Mayor I. P. Paul will be completed in a time-bound manner. People’s participation and transparency in administration will be ensured.”

He stated that he would be highly accessible to people. “Facilities will be made on the ground floor of the corporation office for senior citizens and the physically challenged to meet the Mayor. Arrangements will be made to receive complaints through residents’ associations,” he said.

Mr. Pallan said that he would assign high priority to schemes for widening the railway overbridge, solving bottlenecks on Pattalam road, widening the East Fort junction and developing the West Fort.

“A mobile unit would be started for road works. Pension adalats will be held,” he said. There were no easy solutions to the waste management problems in the city.

“Waste cannot be dumped forcibly at Lalur. At the same time, solutions need to be found to the problem,” he said.