Five-year term of MCC council ends amid cacophony in last meeting

The five-year term of the Mangaluru City Corporation council ended on Thursday, amid the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress members in the last monthly meeting of the council trading charges against each other over achievements.

The five-year term of the Mangaluru City Corporation council ended on Thursday, amid the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress members in the last monthly meeting of the council trading charges against each other over achievements.

Cacophony prevailed in the House for more than two-and-a-half hours with the members of the treasury benches and the Opposition countering each other over the progress made in the last five years.

Unable to control the members during Question Hour, outgoing Mayor Manoj Kumar adjourned the House for about half-an-hour in the forenoon. When the House met again, the unrelenting members continued their tirade against each other. Then the Mayor adjourned the meeting for lunch break.

Though Ivan D’Souza, MLC, rose to speak, he could not do so owing to the continued cacophony. After waiting for sometime, the MLC left the meeting.

When the House resumed proceedings in the afternoon, the Mayor without continuing the Question Hour asked the Whip, Premananda Shetty, to take up matters listed for discussion.

Earlier in the forenoon, the Congress members termed the achievement of the corporation under the BJP rule as “zero.”

Anil Kumar, Leader of the Opposition, alleged that though ₹300 crore have been spent for constructing and maintaining underground drainage network and associated facilities in the past five years, many wet wells and sewage treatment plants (STPs) are still not functioning properly. Hence sewage was flowing in drains and rajakaluves. Though the Opposition members were drawing the attention of the House over the same, the ruling BJP did not do much to improve their maintenance.