Attukal Pongala planning draws flak in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram: BJP councillors disrupted the special council meeting convened on Wednesday, expressing dissatisfaction in the implementation of streetlight maintenance works as well as Attukal Pongala preparations. The meeting was adjourned by Mayor V K Prashant.

BJP councillors alleged that even fund disbursal for streetlight maintenance was not yet complete. Thrikkannapuram councillor K Anilkumar said that the fund for streetlight maintenance in his ward had not been disbursed. He said that in Attukal, only the lights on the main road were working, and the streetlights, which needed repairs, in Pattom had not been attended to.

BJP councillor Girikumar demanded that the procedural delays in implementing the streetlight maintenance works be done away with.

Later at a press conference, the Mayor said that the city Corporation had decided earlier that no money should be spent on maintenance of streetlights, as the LED Lighting Project was on. However, since the LED project was taking time, the council deposited Rs 2.36 crore with the KSEB for maintenance of streetlights, he said. Health Standing Committee chairperson Sreekumar said that tubes and other items worth Rs 1.40 crore have already been purchased from government companies like KSIE.
 
Pongala:
BJP Councillors said that the tender process relating to most of the PWD works of Attukal Pongala was not complete, though the Pongala was on February 23. The mayor said that when the Corporation received administrative sanction on 29 works which last year’s council had submitted on January 23, they immediately initiated the tender process.

He said that though another list of works was proposed by the present council, the Corporation decided not to go ahead with those, as it would take more time for administrative sanctions. However only six of the 29 works were awarded, as the contractors did not come forward to take up the work, said the mayor at a press conference.

UDF seeks more council meets:
UDF councillors did not get a chance to speak at the special council meeting. Councillor Johnson Joseph, at a press conference, said that there had only been three council meetings ever since this council was elected. Council meetings should be more frequent, he said. He added that it had only been three months since the council was elected, and it was not yet time to analyse the Corporation and how it was run.