Protests by residents of Red Building lane, under Kankanady-Valencia ward in the city, against the move to widen a road in the ward echoed at the council meeting of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) on Friday. The Opposition (BJP) came to the support of the residents even as the ruling party (Congress) said a final decision on the matter was yet to be taken.
The residents are against the move to widen the road from six to nine metres, as according to them the aim is to held to builders. They say many of them would lose their properties if the project is given the go-ahead.
While the meeting was under way, a few residents staged a protest at the entrance of the corporation office. They had also protested the previous month when the council meeting was under way.
Raising the issue, Roopa D. Bangera of the BJP asked why the civic body was going ahead with a project the residents did not want. Another BJP member, Tilakraj, wanted to know whether the project was proposed to help builders, as alleged by the residents.
War of words
There were heated arguments between the Opposition and the ruling party members for for a while, with the latter justifying the move by saying the proposal had been approved by the entire council.
Mayor Kavita Sanil told the council that town planning officials have been asked to conduct a survey of properties to be lost to the project. But, she said, the residents have been opposing even this and are not allowing the survey team to do its task.
Earlier this week, a few residents besieged the survey team and the police had to be called to control the situation and ensure the officials’ safety, she said, adding that this was improper behaviour from the residents.
The Mayor said though the project has the council’s approval, the final call would be taken only after assessing the extent of properties that would be affected.
