The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Role of people crucial to make MCC work

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 26, 2007
ePaper

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Role of people crucial to make MCC work

Govind D. Belgaumkar

Interaction between people and councillors to redress problems in the city suggested

— Photo: R. Eswarraj

Responsible citizenship?: Garbage strewn around an empty garbage bin opposite Fr.Muller Hospital at Kankanady in Magalore

BANGALORE: “It is your job to make the corporators and the city corporation work for you. Unless you build pressure on them, they may not rise to your expectations”.

This was the consensus reached at a two-hour meeting of a few concerned citizens and four business management students at The Hindu office on Monday. One of the participants, N. Prakash, an employee of the Corporation Bank who has been trying to pressure MCC on solving local problems, said: “You have to make them feel guilty. Let us say, I pick up a 500 rupee note found on the pavement. I will feel guilty about it only when I learn that someone knows this. Officials and corporators will feel guilty only when they know they are being watched.”

Former president of Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industries and industrialist, Giridhar Prabhu, said active citizenship was the only way out to have the councillors perform. Active citizenship also meant, performing one’s own duties as well: encouraging proper disposal or door-to-door collection of garbage to ensure that roads are free from garbage, paying taxes in time, encouraging justifiable revision of taxes, and so on. Management student of St. Alloysius Institute of Business Administration R. Srijith argued that people had no time to segregate garbage. Mr. Prabhu pointed out that even he and his working wife were able to do it. The meeting emphasised the role of citizens in stopping use of thin plastic bags that cannot be recycled. Mr. Prabhu said studies had showed that 24 MW of power could be generated with the garbage collected in Managalore. Hanumanth Kamath of Nagarika Hitarakshana Vedike suggested that people might have to “act tough” against the councillors to make them work.

Prathitha Jain of SAIBA and most participants agreed that citizens should regularly interact with elected representatives. Other student participants, A.J. Rexon, Naronha and Rashmi M. Lobo Srinivasa of Institute of Management Studies, said media should play a vigorous role in educating people and highlighting the failures of councillors and the corporation.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka