Of all the issues that were raised on Friday at the first public grievance redressal meet held by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the complaint about the condition of toilets at the venue, the civic body’s office on Queen’s Road, seemed to irk Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana the most. He went on to suggest that officials pitch in for the construction of an e-toilet in the premises.
Social worker Sunil Kumar pointed out the deplorable condition of toilets in the BBMP office. He said that many people visit the revenue office every day and yet there isn’t a single working toilet on the premises. “There is no water in the toilets. They reek and are in a state of disrepair. Even officials have fallen ill after using the unhygienic facility,” he said.
Mr. Sathyanarayana said: “It is shameful that a citizen has to point out the sorry state of affairs in the BBMP office itself. What are the officials in this branch doing? Have they not noticed the condition of the toilet? If not, which facility are they using?” Standing Committee for Ward Works A.H. Basavaraju directed the Joint Commissioner (East zone) Venkateshappa to ensure that the toilet is repaired in a week. Later, Mr. Sathyanarayana said that the officials, who were present at the meet, could contribute to the construction of an e-toilet that uses less water and is easy to maintain. “This can be part of the ‘Namma Bangalore, Namma Koduge’ initiative that the BBMP is launching soon,” he said.
Another citizen Shiva Kumar drew the attention of the Mayor to the encroachment of government land in Hebbal ward. He said that after verifying land records, he filed a case in the High Court, which ruled that government land had been encroached. To this, Mr. Sathyanarayana directed officials to revoke the khata given to the building owner and recover the land.
A resident of Vasanthnagar complained that the on-going pipeline replacement work by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board in a drain on Ahmed Sait Road had inconvenienced residents. Mr. Sathyanarayana directed the jurisdictional officials to coordinate with the BWSSB and ensure that the work is completed soon.
Lukewarm responseOnly 15 citizens attended the BBMP’s first zonal level grievance redressal meet. A few councillors of the area also skipped the meet.
Mr. Sathyanarayana, who chaired the meet that lasted around 45 minutes, directed BBMP officials to ensure that grievance meetings are henceforth held at the Assembly constituency level, rather than the zonal level
