Fix potholes if you want to win polls, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and ministers told
BENGALURU: The frequent flooding in many parts of the city due to incessant rains, battered roads and deaths due to potholes in the city which are making headlines has rankled the Congress high command.
With Assembly elections due in a few months from now, AICC General Secretary in-charge of party affairs in the state KC Venugopal took up the issue strongly with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the ministers from the city here on Friday.
He also had an exclusive brief meeting with Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy on the progress in investigation into the murder of jounalist Gauri Lankesh. The tough talk from Venugopal had an immediate impact as the Chief Minister has convened a meeting on Saturday morning to discuss issues solely related to Bengaluru.
Venugopal is said to have expressed concern at the adverse public opinion building up in the city against the Siddaramaiah government due to the inconvenience being suffered by people due to incessant rains and bad civic infrastructure in the city.
With Bengaluru accounting for 28 Assembly seats out of the 224 in the state, Venugopal reportedly asked the Chief Minister and the city ministers to pull up their socks immediately. He also wanted the killers of Gauri to be brought to justice at the earliest. “Venugopal sought details on frequent floodings in the city and the problems being faced by motorists due to damaged roads. He wants the issues to be fixed. He also sought to know the progress in the investigation into Gauri’s killing,” Ramalinga Reddy said after a meeting with Venugopal ahead of the Congress Legislature Party meeting.
Only B’luru to figure in CM meet
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has convened an exclusive meeting to discuss the civic problems of Bengaluru on Saturday. Apart from ministers from the city, the meeting would be attended by top officials of all civic agencies, including BBMP, BDA, BWSSB and BESCOM. Desilting storm water drains, clearing of encroachments on drains, measures to stop flooding, filling up of potholes on war footing are among issues coming up for discussion.