Mayor sets new deadline for Town Hall renovation

MANGALURU: Now, Town Hall renovation work has a new deadline.
Taking a cue from a direction given by DK district in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai to officials at a review meeting held on June 26, mayor Jacintha Vijay Alfred on Monday assured corporators that the work will be completed in four months.
The renovated Town Hall was initially scheduled to open last December.
With the BJP pushing for an explanation from the mayor and creating a mayhem at the start of the meeting, it was left to Shivashankar Swamy, superintending engineer and deputy commissioner (Development), to pacify the agitated opposition at the general meeting of the MCC council on Monday.
The council subsequently approved two items on the agenda to expedite the works to ensure that the deadline is met.
The agenda pertained to taking up pending works on acoustic, lighting and stage curtain amounting to Rs 98 lakh, and seating amounting to Rs 60 lakh. Shivashankar Swamy said the town planning and development standing committee is expected to clear proposals on electrical works, generator and fixing of CCTVs amounting to Rs 55 lakh and air-conditioning of the hall and rooms at an estimated cost of Rs 48 lakh.
Shivashankar said the corporation will invite tenders for the first two components in the above mentioned works for which mayor Jacintha has already given her nod. The Nirmiti Kendra, in the meanwhile, will take up the remaining work in the original work allotted to them at a cost of Rs 99.75 lakh.
This includes laying granite flooring, construction of green rooms, water proofing and construction of a room for VIPs. The BJP corporators headed by leader of the opposition Sudheer Shetty Kannur also staged a dharna in the well of the council over a report that former commissioner Hephsiba Rani Korlapati had sent to the government on the work. Gokuldas Nayak, in-charge commissioner, said Hephsiba had written the letter in her personal capacity and there was no official letter trail in the corporation that is set in motion whenever the commissioner sends an official letter.