The Hindu 05.09.2013
New Mayor too wants a smooth ride
Bangaloreans might be relieved to hear that the city’s
new First Citizen shares their concern about the poor state of the
roads. B.S. Sathyanarayana, who was elected Mayor unopposed here on
Wednesday, said filling potholes and ensuring a smooth ride would be his
priority.
“I ride my two-wheeler around my ward. I
know the travails of motorists, especially two-wheeler riders, given the
numerous potholes that have emerged on our roads. I will continue to
commute on my two-wheeler whenever possible,” he told presspersons.
The
Basavanagudi councillor also promised to focus on rejuvenation and
development of lakes, improvement of the drain network to prevent
flooding and working towards solving the garbage problem in the city.
He
said impetus would be given to revenue mobilisation. The BBMP would
soon implement a new advertisement policy. That, along with Akrama
Sakrama, would bring in enough revenue to fill the BBMP’s almost empty
coffers.
Mr. Sathyanarayana said the government had
already approved the 2013–14 budget presented by the former Mayor D.
Venkatesh Murthy. However, there were some areas, such as electrical
maintenance, that had been left out in that budget. “We will explore the
possibility of presenting a supplementary budget. This will be done
only after the formation of the standing committees,” he said.
Asked
how he would tackle the problem of “non-cooperative officials”, the
Mayor said, “I have been in public life for more than two decades. I
know how to extract work from officials. I will crack the whip, if
necessary. I will direct the officials to submit a daily report on the
works taken up.”
Surprise inspections
He
said he would conduct surprise inspections, which would keep officials
on their toes. Every Monday would be dedicated to inspection of the
various markets in the city. Grievance redressal meets would be
conducted at the zonal level and later at the Assembly constituency
level.
‘Books, not garlands’
Mr.
Sathyanarayana appealed to citizens not to garland him or present him
bouquets. “If the citizens want to give me anything, let them give me
books. I will donate these books to the city’s libraries.”
Later,
the new Mayor, accompanied by his deputy, garlanded the statues of
Kempe Gowda and Mahatma Gandhi outside the BBMP head office and on M.G.
Road respectively.
