By Violet Pereira, Team Mangalorean

Mangalore:  The CPI(M) workers staged a protest against the implementation of collecting garbage with a charge of Rs 30 from every house in the city limits from August 1, in front of the City Corporation office, Lalbagh here on July 27.

Addressing the protesters Sunil Kumar Bajal said that the Mangalore City Corporation is giving false hopes to the citizens of Mangalore. "There are no proper garbage dumping facilities in the city. While the house tax of Rs 150, which also includes garbage collecting tax, is being collected by the MCC, they are trying to collect an extra Rs 30 again towards the garbage collection fee from every house. Right now the garbage is not being handled properly. What is the guarantee that their hired people will promptly go door-to-door and collect the garbage everyday?" 

"Our politicians, in their speeches, assure to make Mangalore city a model city for the entire country; they even talk of making Mangalore like Singapore. They also have plans to make the city a 'dust bin free Mangalore'.  But at present the garbage is thrown everywhere; if we go to the Central Market meat selling area, there is garbage dumped in many places and no one from the City Corporation tries to clear it.  The appointed garbage collectors cannot work properly because they have not been given any hand gloves or safety shoes. The concerned MCC officials are not even concerned about the safety of the garbage collecting labourers. Our city is filled with mosquitoes and diseases like dengue, malaria and cholera have become common and is increasing day by day. The City Corporation officials are assuring to give transparent service to the people in this regard. They are also planning to install CCTV in every department. But in reality the officials are spending money in crores without any positive results. MCC is filled with corruption," he said.

Speaking on the occasion Vasanth Achar questioned if the Mangalore City Corporation will charge Rs 30 every month from every house, will they guarantee the collection of garbage everyday from every house?  Will they guarantee that the garbage collectors will go to rural areas to collect the garbage?  If they don't turn up for some days as is the usual practice, where will the people dispose the garbage?  Why is the city corporation trying to put the poor people in such situations?

Further he said, if the MCC is collecting the garbage from every house to make the city dustbin free, then we don't have any objection but we demand that they not collect the fee of Rs 30 from any residents.  He also put forth the demands of clearing the garbage in Central Market area everyday and maintaining the cleanliness in the city.

Corporator Jayanthi B Shetty,  DYFI President Imthiyaz, Yogesh Jappinamogeru, Hamza, Mohammed Mustafe, Samuel Titus and Bharathi Bolar were also present.