Issue of defacement of municipal property by functionaries and supporters of political parties dominated the proceedings at a meeting of the Udhagamandalam Municipal Council (UMC) held here on Monday.
With George (from DMK) and Vincent (from Congress) firing the first salvo, some of the councillors including J. Ravikumar (from DMK) joined them and said the appearance of the compound wall of the Municipal market here had been spoilt by pasting posters.
Chairman of the UMC, K. Sathyabhama, who presided said a resolution could be passed and letters be sent to all the political parties with an appeal to refrain from defacing municipal property. Members said such a resolution had already been passed by an earlier council and the compound wall given a face lift.
Stating that unauthorised constructions were mushrooming and buildings that had been demolished earlier were coming up again, members termed the inspections being carried out by officials as a farce.
They said the authorities concerned should take action against illegal constructions in an impartial manner. They stressed the need for putting up a bus shelter near the ATC bus stop after removing all the unauthorised structures there.
Action to be taken
Ms. Sathyabhama assured that appropriate action would be taken. An official said water, electricity and drainage connections could be denied to such unauthorised constructions.
Ramesh (from DMK) said water distribution system needed to be streamlined, and wanted to know the status of the third water supply scheme from the Parsons Valley Hydel Reservoir.
Replying to query relating to the increasing problems on the parking front here, the Chairman said the proposal to provide parking facilities above the Kodappamund channel that cut through the town has been dropped, as engineers pointed out it was not feasible.
Converting a part of the race course into a parking lot was also not possible. Among those who participated were Commissioner K. Sivakumar, Municipal Engineer B. Ramoorthy, and Municipal Health Officer P.G. Bhanumathy.
