The strained relationship between city Corporation Council members and officials came up for discussion in the council meeting on Monday.
The meeting wound up in record time as the United Democratic Front councillors proceeded to the well of the council hall insisting that the issue be sorted out right in the beginning and not be put off for the end as Mayor K. Chandrika had said.
It all began when Vellar councillor Nedumam Mohanan moved an adjournment motion saying that the tenure of the present council led by Ms. Chandrika was marred by several incidents that exposed how much the relationship between the councillors and the officials had disintegrated.
Flare-up
Last week’s flare-up between an overseer, Jyothish Himajakumari, and councillors P. Ashok Kumar and Sheeja Madhu saw charges of assault, harassment and corruption being levelled against each other.
The UDF councillors told the press after the meeting was wound up that development in the city would be held hostage unless a healthy relationship was maintained with the officials. UDF’s Maheshwaran Nair said even the altercation with the overseer should have been dealt with straightaway, rather than allow false rumours to go around.
“A compromise should have been arrived at by summoning both the parties immediately, but all the Mayor has done is let the situation disintegrate further,” he said. Mr. Ashok Kumar spoke about how the welfare of the common people was getting affected.
“We had gone to speak to the overseer on behalf of someone who was waiting to receive the second instalment for their house being built as part of a Corporation scheme. If we receive such a reaction from the officials concerned, how are the people supposed to benefit,” he said. The Council adopted an adjournment motion moved by welfare standing committee chairman Palayam Rajan requesting Railways to attach more coaches to the Kanyakumari-Mumbai Express in light of an accident last week at the Kazhakuttam station in which a couple of passengers fell from the train as it started moving after an all-too brief a stop.
The Mumbai train and the Malabar Express must be allowed to stop for a longer duration at the station, the resolution said.
