Yettinahole project - MCC councillors sit on the wall

Yettinahole project - MCC councillors sit on the wall

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru,Aug 30, 2015 :  MCC - City Corporation councillors  are divided over the implementation of the Yettinahole project and, as a result, failed to a pass a resolution against the project at the monthly meeting Aug 29.  

Corporator Roopa Bangera – raised the issue, backed by the BJP councillors – urged the mayor to pass a resolution opposing the implementation of the project and send it to the State government. The Congress corporators, however, refused to pass the resolution.

Corporator  Mohammed said that the Council cannot pass any resolution against the State government. All the political parties can fight against the cause. The decision to implement the Yettinahole project, however, is taken by the State government.

BJP leading councillor Premanand Shetty and Tilak Raj said that, in the interest of the general public of Dakshina Kannada district, the resolution should be passed. Harinath, president of the standing committee on finance, said that water-sharing is a national issue. The decision is taken by the government after conducting a study. The council of the Mangalore City Corporation cannot take such a decision.

Deepak Poojary, president of the standing committee on town planning, said that the project has been okayed by former Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda. Why did the BJP keep quiet when the decision had been taken by the then government?  This led to a series of arguments and counter-arguments. Insisting on the passing of a resolution, the BJP members entered the well of the house.  The councillors failed to come to a conclusion on the issue.


ADB project  :  The Council ratified the decision to take over the charge of UGD systems – started under the first phase of the KUDCEMP project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) – for its future maintenance. The BJP councillors, however, objected to it, saying that without the completion of the first phase of the work, the UGD systems, wet wells and STPs should not be taken over by the Corporation for maintenance.

Opposition leader Sudheer Shetty said that under the first phase, work worth Rs 226 crore has been taken up, including the work on 22 wet wells, 355 km-long UGD lines, 16,815 inspection chambers (manholes) and four STPs. The STP at Madhava Nagar at Surathkal, however, has not been maintained. Electricity connections have not been given to the STP at Tadambail, to pump sewage to the STP. In spite of an inauguration, the STP at Jeppinamogaru has not started functioning. The work that had been taken up has failed to connect sewer lines from houses to the inspection chambers of the main sewage-carrying pipelines in several areas.

The councillors also demanded a review of the decision of the Council in the matter.   Poojary said that the loopholes in the first phase of the ADB-funded project would be rectified. Unless it takes over the works going on under the first phase, the MCC will not get funds for the second phase, he insisted.

The mayor decided to convene a meeting of the KUIDFC MD and discuss the loopholes in the first phase of the work before the next monthly meeting.