Mangaluru, Oct 30, 2022: Mangaluru City has got a new Mayor. The election of senior corporator Jayananda Anchan as the new Mayor of the Mangaluru City Corporation, as expected has kindled a lot of expectations and it is ardently hoped that he would not disappoint the trust reposed by the people of the city on him.
Every time a new Mayor is elected, it is but natural to have some expectations from the first citizen. Given the experience which Anchan has as a two-time corporator, citizens are hoping he would certainly make things better in the port city.
Anchan represents the Kadri Padavu Ward and has assured to give priority to expediting all ongoing works including development of roads and Implementation of Jalasiri scheme that aims at providing round the clock water supply to Mangaluru.
At a function which he had participated recently, he has also spoken that he has been visiting different wards to have a first-hand account of the issues facing the wards and also to look into cleanliness aspect. He also pointed out how he saw construction wastes dumped on the roadsides in many places and spoke on the need to have a system in place to ensure disposal of construction wastes. A welcome move indeed.
The citizens of Mangaluru want concrete action from the first citizen. Now that it has been only a few days since he took charge, citizens are hoping he would swing into action soon to solve several pressing problems confronting the city.
First and foremost Mangaluru being a Smart City and many projects taken up as part of the scheme aimed at beautifying as well as developing Mangaluru, the new Mayor has to ensure all projects are taken up in a scientific manner and are implemented causing least inconvenience to the general public.
Another issue that the new Mayor needs to give attention to is the sorry state of the many roads of Mangaluru which are riddled with potholes. Now that rains have subsided, the Mayor must ensure all roads are better maintained so that there is no casualty due to accidents while moving on the potholes filled roads.
Problems facing this city are many and to just cite a few, there is an urgent need to provide good footpaths to the already concretized roads as it is a bitter truth that many roads lack footpaths forcing pedestrians to walk on the roadside even if it meant danger to their lives.
The Corporation which spends crores on Smart City Projects should also give attention to the issues confronting some of the health centres run by the MCC in the city. Recently the CPI(M) had staged a protest to highlight the problems confronting the Urban Health Centre at Ladyhill. All health centres in the MCC limits need to be developed and equipped with better facilities and measures must be taken to give the buildings a facelift.
The city has more pressing problems that need urgent attention. Parking is one issue and it is hoped he would hold consultations with the traffic police and other authorities to ensure the city gets good parking spaces which would also go a long way in easing congestion.
And the people would love to see the Mayor in action. He should make it a point to visit at least one ward every week. The Mayor has already said he has been visiting different places and hoped he would continue the welcome trend that will repose a lot of confidence in the citizens.
The issue of street vendors too needs to be dealt in a pragmatic manner as various eviction drives held in the past have yielded no result and the effort of the earlier Congress rule to dedicate a space for street vendors not meeting with success.
The experience of the new Mayor would certainly come in handy while dealing with the various issues confronting the city and it is hoped Jayananda Anchan would certainly fulfill the aspirations as well as meet the expectations of Mangalureans and see to it that many longstanding civic issues are addressed.