Kalyana Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKCCI), a body of industrialists and traders from the region, took serious objection to the absence of the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, the Commissioner of Kalaburagi City Corporation and other officers in the public consultative meeting convened on Monday last to seek public preferences to be incorporated in the civic body budget.
In a media note released here on Wednesday, KKCCI president Shashikanth Patil, honorary secretary Manjunath Jewargi and executive committee member Sandeep Mishra said that the meeting showed the lack of importance given by the civic body towards public opinion.
“The Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, the Corporation Commissioner, most of the members and other officers were absent in the public consultative meeting. The meeting was called for just for the sake of organising it. Superintending Engineer R.P. Jadhav and chairperson of the Standing Committee for Finance Ragamma Inamdar were the only two important people present in the meeting,” they said.
The KKCCI office-bearers said that they were present in the meeting and have put forward their demands for the benefit of the public.
“Construction of footpaths between SVP Chowk and Railway Station, a public toilet for traders and common people in the Station Bazaar area and not increasing any property tax for the next financial year are among our main demands. We submitted the demands to the corporation during the meeting,” they said.
Taking note of street lamps remaining switched on even during the day and the resultant financial burden on the corporation, they added “we have also demanded deployment of staff for proper maintenance of street lamps.”
“The Corporation Commissioner and senior officers in the civic body are simply passing their time. They are not attending to public grievances. We are discontented with the corporation’s inaction to public demand for a two-way footpath between the KKCCI building and Mehbas Masjid,” they said.
