Civil society groups and activists in Mysuru have sought a public grievance redressal mechanism at the urban local body level to shore up city administration. They have also rued “administrative collapse” in Mysuru and hence want Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to direct officials to interact with stakeholders and listen to their grievances pertaining to the city so as to tone up administration.
Bhamy V. Shenoy of the Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) said people of the city should put pressure on political parties and candidates ahead of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) elections so that a few burning issues could be resolved.
The MGP identified what it called as six major problems plaguing Mysuru and said that if these were to be addressed the other issues could also get resolved subsequently. It identified traffic, footpath encroachment, overflowing garbage and sewage, encroachment of parks, water supply, and food adulteration as issues that need immediate redressal.
Though a group of civil society activists, including members of the MGP and AAP leader Malavika Gubbivani, have tried to meet the MCC Commissioner to raise certain issues related to the city, they have been unsuccessful despite being issued appointment on multiple occasions, said Mr. Shenoy. He also wrote to the Chief Minister suggesting a public redressal mechanism similar to Janaspananda, to be introduced at the MCC level.
The MGP expressed concern that if the traffic problem was not solved, Mysuru could soon go the Bengaluru way and wanted the authorities to impose stiff penalty for traffic rules violation.
On the footpath encroachment issue, the MGP said footpaths are hardly used by pedestrians as they are encroached and it not just the vendors but even vehicles tend to be parked.
Mr. Shenoy also highlighted uncleared garbage and overflowing sewage as one of the issues that require priority from the authorities. Though helplines are given they do not seem to work and contacting the MCC authorities is impossible, he added.
Referring to water supply, the MGP said crores of rupees were spent to ensure 24x7 water to the residents under the JNNURM but not only is the supply erratic but even the quality of water supplied is questionable. Though helplines are routinely provided by the authorities they do not work, it said.
The water availability was bound to improve with the implementation of the Haleunduwadi project. But unless the distribution network was improved the water woes would continue, said the MGP.
It described food adulteration as being rampant in the city and rued that despite having two premier food research institutes in Mysuru, the MCC did not have a functioning laboratory to test for food adulteration. Though there was a law which was strong on paper, it was not being enforced. On encroachment of parks, the MGP said the local body was not even aware of the extent of the problem. Building bylaw violations remain rampant and people were opening paying guest facilities without even securing permission from the MCC, it added.
Published - June 30, 2024 07:27 pm IST
