Fathers of the city

Fathers of the city

Whatever infrastructure Bangalore has today is because of sincere and dedicated work put in by its early mayors. Few have measured up since

The Hindu

It is hard for anyone to name the city's past mayors. Some newcomers will struggle to name even the present one. Bangalore City Municipality was once led by men like T.T. Leonard, Arcot Srinivasachar, K.P. Puttanna Chetty, B.K. Garudachar, Mohammed Abbas Khan and Keshava whose concern for bettering the civic life in the city was commendable.

Appointed in 1883 as Vice-President of Bangalore City Municipalty, Arcot Srinivasachar used to leave his house daily at 6.30 a.m., inspect a select locality and return by 7.30 a.m. He would put his finger on his shoe and rub it to show the sanitary staff how thick the dust was. To remove the dust, the road was swept and sprayed with water early, before the traffic began to move.

Mr. Srinivasachar would start his second round at 9.30 a.m. and visit places from where petitions and complaints had been received. During this visit the clerical and executive staff were required to be present. Each petition or complaint was taken up for study on the spot and decisions taken then and there as far as possible. By 4 p.m. written orders confirming the decision taken in the morning would be kept ready, duly signed by the Vice-President.

Fulltime President

In 1896, the office of a fulltime President was created and T.T. Leonard, who was earlier working as Superintendent of Government Stationery, was appointed to the post. He was proactive and when the press drew his attention to the public being cheated by firewood sellers and traders by using fake weights and measures, Leonard saw to it that their illegal activities were curbed. He also tried to close cesspits and insisted on daily removal of night soil. As this measure was opposed and complaints even reached the Diwan, Leonard insisted that at least once in a week, the Municipal Overseer be allowed to enter houses and with the help of Municipal workers remove the night soil into carts waiting outside.

K.P. Puttanna Chetty served as Honorary President of Bangalore Municipality from 1913 to 1920. He earned applause for his smooth running of the Municipality and improving its financial health. Construction of a new Market, planning an industrial suburb, housing for the poor and a sewerage plan for the city and its extensions were conceived by Chetty. He did commendable work in providing relief when the influenza pandemic broke out in the city in 1918. Chetty was the harbinger of Bangalore's development as a cosmopolitan city. His love for Bangalore and his zeal for its planned growth earned him the epithet Bengalurina Pithamaha.

B.K. Garudachar who served as Councillor of the Bangalore City Municipality for nearly 36 years, was its president thrice. He was familiar with every nook and cranny in the city. Every morning he would take a walk through the streets and its bylanes, and make a mental note of the things that required immediate action. When there was a work to be done, he would pay a personal visit to the key man — be it a clerk or an accountant, or an ordinary citizen. He would speak to them about the share of work he had to do. He was not a man of speech but of action. The grievances of the public thus received prompt and effective attention.

Mohammad Abbas Khan, as President, was vigilant and energetic. He would accompany Diwan Mirza Ismail on horseback on his morning rounds around the city and note down instructions given by him.

The first elected Mayor of Bangalore Corporation, Keshava, who strongly believed in Gandhian principles. To keep officials of the Health Department on their toes, he used to select one slum in the city and make an announcement in the newspaper requesting social workers to meet him at that selected slum for a clean up drive. This announcement would motivate the department to put together their sanitary staff and get the particular slum meant for cleaning, thoroughly cleaned up the previous day itself. The next morning, Kesava along with the social workers would visit the slum and spend a couple of hours with them distributing sweets, soap and other articles donated by philanthropists. He also was able to persuade some proprietors of hotels to feed poor and deserving students.

S. SRINIVAS