Many residents of Shivamogga took the officers of Shivamogga Smart City Limited to task on Tuesday, citing substandard works executed in the city. The officers had a tough time convincing the residents with their responses.
This was the scene at the public grievance redressal meeting convened by Shivamogga Smart City Limited at Kuvempu Ranga Mandira. The residents of Basavanagudi and Ravindra Nagar alleged that the underground drainage work done in their localities had ruined their lives. During the rainy season, the filthy water floods into their houses, making their lives miserable.
“We have been staying put in Basavanagudi for the last 50 years. Until the smart city projects, we did not have this problem. The smart city project has hit us hard”, said Rekha, a resident.
Another resident of the same locality said that the underground drainage was not designed to suit the old houses. “We cannot raise the height of our house to suit the new design of drainages laid under the smart city project. The engineers have executed the work without understanding the existing realities”, she said.
Members of the citizens’ forum alleged that the cycle path laid from Lakshmi Theatre to N.T. Road had been a failure, rendering the investment under the smart city project a wasteful expenditure. The path earmarked for bicycles had been encroached upon by street vendors. The officers had failed to reclaim the path. Similarly, several citizens raised objections to the quality of work on improving the Balraj Urs Road.
The participants wanted to know the status of green urbanisation. As the officers informed the residents that more than 8,600 saplings had been planted, members of the citizens’ forum alleged that there had been poor maintenance of the plants. Mayanna Gowda, Managing Director of Smart City Limited, said the officers would review the project and assess how the plants were being maintained.
Regarding the underground drainage work, Mr. Mayanna Gowda said the officers would visit the locality and resolve the problem. Executive Engineers M. Krishnappa, A.V. Vijay Kumar, Assistant Engineers A.N. Ashwin, Manoj L. Chavan, and others responded to the complaints raised by the public. Often, the citizens got into arguments with the officers when they were not convinced by their responses.
