Unauctioned vehicles pile up at Kozhikode Municipal Corporation office

Kozhikode: Many vehicles owned by the Kozhikode Municipal Corporation and waiting to be auctioned off, are taking up the large space of the civic body near its office. Vehicles worth lakhs were dumped in the large area for years after the fitness period was over or maintenance became costlier.

Though the Corporation had conducted an auction, no takers came forward due to the high quoted price. Though the vehicles belonged to the civic body, the Public Works department (PWD) was responsible to assess the value and fix the minimum rate for the vehicles to be auctioned. The apathy by the civic body in taking speedy steps is also delaying the auction.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Deputy Mayor Meera Darsak said that the rates fixed by the PWD were very high compared to the market rates and that was the reason why no one turned up for the auction. “We have again requested the PWD to reduce the rate so that they can be removed from the place as early as possible. That space can be used for other useful purposes instead of parking the vehicles which are of no use,” she added.

Mayor Thottathil Raveendran who agreed that the vehicles should have been auctioned off earlier, added that the maintenance of the vehicles was the main problem the civic body was facing. “Renting vehicles is far better compared to the maintenance cost incurred for each vehicle,” he said.

The Mayor added that the recently held Mayors’ Council had demanded that the state government allot a mechanical engineer, electrical engineer and an environmental engineer in each Corporation in order to conduct better maintenance work thereby saving money for the civic bodies.