No repairs for FTS building

Forbes Transformer Station (FTS) Building in N.R.Mohalla is a historical building, having been built in 1927 during the reign of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar. But due to a lack of basic maintenance over the last few decades, it is decaying fast. Large chunks of plaster have fallen off and trees, some of them several feet high have grown on its walls and roof. If corrective action is not taken immediately, sections of the ceiling and the walls will be falling off under the effect of the tree roots.

A photo of the sorry state of this building was carried by the media more than 5 months ago. A recent look at the building shows that nothing has changed and Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation is still neglecting the building. If urgent action is not taken, the trees will grow deeper roots this rainy season and this historic building could be lost forever.

B.V. Shenoy, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Destruction of park in Mysore

To,
The Chief Secretary,
Karnataka State,
Bengaluru

Sir,

Attached photographs are of a place which not long ago was a well maintained park called Sanjeevini Park. Centrally located beside Kamakshi Hospital, Kuvempu Nagar, Mysore, it was a very popular park especially patronized by the elderly and the children.

Then a local corporator decided to change its name to Happy Man Park and to “develop” it. This work has been going on for the last one year. Now a No Entry board is hanging at the ghastly entrance with security persons stopping people from entering the place. Even otherwise, the park is not usable, becuase of the construction material lying all over. Elderly people now sit on the stone base of the grill around the park cursing the administration and the corporator for this state of affairs.

This wanton destruction of a well maintained park not only speaks of the collusion between the political masters and the government administrative machinery but also raises the question of violation of many laws. Some of them are:

1. The Karnataka Parks, Playfields and Open Spaces (preservation and Regulation) Rules, 1985, under which no structure can be constructed within the park if it is less than 2 ha in area and just a watchman’s shed (not exceeding 30 sq.m.) if the area of the park exceeds 2 ha. As against this in this park entire area is dug up, provision is being made to construct shops on one side of the boundary of the park, a high level water tank is being constructed, many sheds for the birds and animals have been built and are being built. In brief the entire park area has been used for the construction of a mini-zoo!!

2. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 is being wantonly flouted as one can see birds and other animals being caged and left without being taken care of. Many birds are said to have been killed for want of necessary care.

3. Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and the The Guidelines of the Central Zoo Authority have been flouted.

We request you to order an enquiry into this entire sordid act. It is surprising as to how such wanton violation of laws have occurred and as to how the officers of the Mysore City Corporation have either overlooked or even connived with such blatant violation.

Mysore City is not any small town. It is a city with a great heritage in terms of culture and civic facilities. If this wanton act can happen here in Mysore one shudders to imagine as to what would be situation in other towns and cities of the state.

Yours sincerely,
R Chandra Prakash,
Convener, 
Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP)

Letter to MLA Vasu

To,
Sri. Vasu,
Hon'ble MLA - Chamaraja Constituency,
Temple Road, Jayalakshmipuram,
Mysore 570 012

Dear Sri Vasu, 

We want to thank you for having taken time to come and have an interaction with MGP members. We specially want to thank you for having come on time, a rare attribute indeed. During the meeting three topics were discussed: drinking water crisis, good administration for Mysore and protecting Mysore's parks. We summarize below the discussion on these topics for your ready reference.  

1. Drinking Water Crisis  

a. Inequitable distribution of water between different areas. 

b. Irregular water supply timings. 

c. Poor quality of water. 

d. Non-working meters and illegal connections. 

e. Poor response to consumers' complaints. VVWW and JUSCO blaming each other 

Suggestions from MGP. 

Electric supply in Karnataka had similar problems a few years ago and the problems have been greatly reduced after the government increased accountability in the field of electric supply by establishing autonomous bodies such as Chamundeshwari Electric Supply Corporation and a regulatory body, the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission. Taking cue from this positive experience, the government should establish a separate body manned by competent people to manage water supply in Mysore and a regulatory body. This move will make the water supply company accountable and improve all facets of water supply.  

2. Better Administration for Mysore 

Key officials such as the various commissioners serving in Mysore are being transferred frequently, very often in less than 6 months and the administration is suffering because of a lack of continuity, coordination and accountability. 

Suggestion from MGP 

Not only should the government post competent and efficient officials to key administrative positions in Mysore, it should also not transfer them till they complete their terms. 

3. Protecting the parks of Mysore 

The vast majority of parks in Mysore are poorly maintained. The government is also permitting illegal structures in many parks in direct violation of Karnataka Parks, Play-fields and Open Spaces (Preservation and Regulation) Act, 1985. The most notable example is People's Park where many illegal structures already exist and on top of it the government itself is planning to build a public library which is again illegal.  

Suggestion from MGP 

Comparison is often made with the Public Library building in Cubbon Park, Bangalore. But that building was constructed nearly a hundred years ago in 1915, much before the KPPOS Act was enacted. Therefore, comparison with the new library building proposed to be built in People's Park in violation of the KPPOS Act is not valid. 

As a legislator, your primary duty is to enact legislation for the benefit of the public and to see that laws enacted by the legislature are enforced so that the intentions of the legislature in making those laws are not defeated. Therefore all illegal structures in all the parks in Mysore (including People's Park) must be removed. 

The intention of the legislature in passing the KPPOS Act is stated at the beginning of the Act: "In view of the increasing demand for residential and commercial sites in the urban areas, a number of parks, play-fields and open spaces are being converted into sites and for other such uses. In order to provide necessary space for recreation to the residents of each locality it is necessary to preserve parks, playfields and open spaces and to put an end to the practice of converting such lands into other uses. Hence this Bill". We request you to ensure that this intention is not defeated anywhere in Mysore. 

We are optimistic that you will take up our suggestions in the best interests of Mysore city. We are always ready to work with you in matters affecting the people of Mysore. Our suggestions may hurt the interests of some powerful people, but we are sure that you have the courage and conviction to push for action which will help our city.  

Yours sincerely,
Sreemathi Hariprasad,
President,
MGP

Be careful about your water storage

Most residents of Mysore are supplied water from Kaveri and Kabini rivers. Water from these rivers is chlorinated and pumped into large reservoirs such as the Yadavagiri High Level Reservoir and Vijayanagar Central Storage Reservoir. From these large reservoirs, water is pumped into overhead tanks all over Mysore and these overhead tanks supply water to the consumers. With the supply of water being not reliable or regular, many consumers also have sumps and overhead tanks in their houses to store water. As a result, water is stored in 4 levels of storage before it reaches the tap of the consumer. 

If proper precautions are not taken, water can get contaminated at each level of storage. The storage tanks have to be cleaned at least twice a year with liberal use of bleaching powder so that acuumulation of sediments and other dirt is checked and slime (algae) that is formed on the walls is removed.. No sunlight should be permitted to enter the tanks, since in the presence of sediment and sunlight algae grow vigorously and this promotes the growth of dangerous bacteria. 

Despite the great importance of keeping the tanks clean, reservoirs and overhead tanks of VVWW are rarely cleaned. But the residents of Mysore can help the cause of their health by keeping their sumps and overhead tanks clean and sunlight-proof. Black plastic sheets can be used to cover the lids of the sumps and overhead tanks so that sunlight is kept completely out. Consumers should not feel complacent just because they drink boiled or aquaguard water. If the stored water is contaminated, washing or rinsing utensils in such water may cause infection

Prof. A. Ramalingam, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Chlorine is dangerous to the RCC of water reservoirs

This is with reference to the letter of A.K.Sen published in the 3-6-13 issue of SOM. The writer is correct about the corrosive action of chlorine on the reinforced cement concrete used in constructing water reservoirs. Chlorine by itself may have some reaction on the iron rods in RCC, but in the presence of moisture it forms hydrochloric and hypochlorous acids which rapidly attack exposed iron. When the roof of Vijayanagar Central Storage Reservoir collapsed a few years ago, it was noticed that the iron rods when they are corroded by chlorine and moisture expand in size causing the surrounding cement concrete to crack. Soon the strength and integrity of the RCC  is compromised and the roof collapses. 

MGP has written letters to the authorities that construction of water reservoir roofs is a specialized job and can not be done by any ordinary contractor. It should be entrusted to specialized builders who have the technical knowledge of design and construction of high density concrete roofing capable of withstanding corrosion by chlorine. But our letters have been ignored and the work is given to regular contractors. As a result, the structures do not last long and public money is wasted.

Prof. A. Ramalingam, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Yadavagiri reservoir roof being repaired

A portion of the roof of the Yadavagiri water reservoir collapsed on the night of 26-5-13. After the photo of the collapsed roof appeared in various newspapers, officials are now getting the roof repaired by covering the hole in the roof by corrugated sheets. VVWW is to be congratulated for prompt action.

But this episode raises a strong suspicion that if the photo had not appeared in the papers, repairs would not have taken place. Exactly the same thing happened two years ago when a portion of the roof of the same reservoir collapsed (on 26-4-11) and repair was started only after photos of the damaged roof appeared in the papers. Did the staff at the reservoir not notice that the roof had collapsed? Or did they not report it to their superiors? Or did the superiors not act on this information until the news hit the headlines? Do the public need to keep an eye on everything? 

The same malady seems to affect other departments of Mysore City Corporation and the government in general. Be it leakage of water mains, overflow of sewers, potholes in roads or non-functioning of streetlights, the public has to bring the problem to the attention of the authorities or no action will be taken..Old timers tell stories of officers of the King inspecting the city on horseback every day, identifying problems and ordering action on them without anyone having to complain about them. In the present scenario, these stories appear like fairy tales.

Dwarkanath Narayan, MGP

(Earlier reports on Yadavagiri water reservoir 1, 2, 3, 4)