Bangalore, September 5: Soon after getting elected unopposed as Mayor, Basavanagudi councillor B.S. Sathyanarayana said that he would prioritise on filling potholes towards making commuting on city roads smooth.
“I ride my two-wheeler to go around in my ward. I know the travails of motorists, especially two-wheeler riders, given the numerous potholes that have emerged on our roads. I will continue to commute on my two-wheeler whenever possible,” he told reporters here on Wednesday.
He also said that he would also focus on rejuvenation and development of lakes, improvement of the drain network to prevent flooding and working towards solving the garbage problem in the city. Impetus will be given to revenue mobilisation. The BBMP would soon implement the new advertisement policy. That, along with the Akrama Sakrama would bring in enough revenue to fill the BBMP’s almost empty coffers.
Supplementary budget
Mr. Sathyanarayana said that the government had already approved the 2013-14 budget presented by former Mayor D. Venkatesh Murthy. He said that there still were some areas, such as electrical maintenance, that had been left out in that budget. “We will explore the possibility of presenting a supplementary budget. This will be done only after the formation of the standing committees,” he said.
Asked how will tackle the problem of “non-cooperative officials”, he said, “I have been in public life for more than two decades. I know how to extract work from officials. I will crack the whip, if necessary. I will direct the officials to submit a daily report on the works taken up.”
He also said that he would conduct surprise inspections, which will keep the officials on their toes. That apart, every Monday would be dedicated to inspection of the various markets in the city. Grievance redressal meets would be conducted at the zonal level and later at the Assembly constituency level. “During these meets, we will try to solve and address the citizens’ problems on the spot,” he added.
‘No more garlands’
Later, he appealed to citizens to not garland him or present bouquets of flowers to him. “If the citizens want to give me anything, let them give me books. I will donate these books to the city’s libraries.”
Later, the new Mayor, accompanied by his deputy, garlanded the statues of city’s founding father Kempe Gowda in front of the BBMP head office and Mahatma Gandhi on M.G. Road.
