Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) will take up asphalting work from December. Roads where city buses ply will be asphalted on priority basis, and it will depend on the funds available with the corporation, MCC Commissioner Harish Kumar has said.
Mr. Kumar said this in reply to observations by some councillors who highlighted the poor condition of many interior roads at a meeting of the council on Saturday.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) councillor Jayanti Shetty said the interior roads in Bajal ward were in a pathetic state. “You cannot step on these roads,” she said. Ms. Shetty also said garbage collection in many of her areas was irregular. Councillor Deepak Poojary said several internal roads were in a bad shape sought immediate intervention. Councillors Bhaskar K. and Mariyamma Thomas referred to the poor quality of roadworks taken up under the MLA’s Local Area Development Scheme.
Councillor James D’Souza raised the issue of frequent digging of concrete roads. “People praise concrete roads. But they also point to digging of roads, which is turning into an eyesore. Water pipelines below many of the concrete roads were leaking.” Huge investment made for concrete roads goes down the drain when road cutting are being allowed for repair of leaking water pipes and other utility lines.
Councillor Appi drew attention to the bad condition of the concrete road between Father Muller Hospital and Nandigudda Circle. Mr. Kumar responded by saying that the corporation would shift utility lines while widening the road between Mannagudde and New Chitra Talkies. This stretch will be widened as per international standards and will have separate duct for utility lines. “I do not want to talk of the past. This work will cost Rs. 11.5 crore, which is about three times more than the cost taken for laying the concrete road in the way it was done earlier,” he said. Mr. Kumar said similar work was being taken up between Mangaladevi temple and Pandeshwar Railway Level Crossing.
The MCC sanctioned Rs. 3 crore and Rs. 2 crore for construction of railway under bridge at Jeppu-Kutpady and on Padil-Bajal Road. The MCC is getting 60 new 500-kg garbage containers that will be installed across the city. Mr. Kumar said these new containers would be the secondary solid waste collection points.
