PUTTING BEST FOOT FORWARD

PUTTING BEST FOOT FORWARD
BBMP Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena Gets Down To Business From Day 1 | Promises This Is Not One-Off Affair
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: The chief civic agency’s new head was already on his toes on a rainy Monday. To gain first-hand experience of water-logging in slums and low-lying areas, BBMP commissioner Bharat Lal Meena, with an entourage of officials, began the stock-taking exercise even before assuming charge.
WHAT COMES FIRST
Not going overboard about his mandate for the city, Meena said his immediate priorities are to tackle problems related to monsoon, storm water drains, encroachments and garbage. His vision is a clean-green Bangalore. Those with complaints can approach Meena during office hours without any fixed meeting time. He also plans to start wardlevel grievance redressal meetings.
CHALLENGES GALORE
There are high expectations with Meena taking up the top job. Monsoon has hit Bangalore, elections to BBMP council are just around the corner, a host of infrastructure projects are in progress and property tax collection’s on in full steam.
“I will complete ongoing projects on time and deliver as per public needs. Encroachments along drains will be removed; drains need a lot of attention and I will meet engineers to bring in some technical reforms,’’ Meena outlined.
WORK BEGINS
Meena began Day 1 by visiting three slums — Rajendranagar, Lakshman Rau and Sonnenahalli — to check out problems of waterlogging. At Lakshman Rau slum, he checked the construction of a bridge across a storm water drain and instructed engineers to complete it within 15 days.
In Vannarpet and Anepalya Main Road, roadside debris, encroachments and vehicles parked on pavements greeted the BBMP commissioner. He instructed engineers to remove encroachments soon. At Shoolay Circle towards Adugodi, Meena noticed pavements were removed for maintenance work and asked officials to lay them back immediately.
DAY ONE
PROMISES
Storm water drains to be better maintained
Clearing garbage, removing encroachments from pavements
Greener Bangalore
Ward-level residents’ meeting
No fixed hours for public meeting
SUBRAMANYA’S
NEW ROLE
Outgoing BBMP commissioner S Subramanya’s new profile is in stark contrast to his earlier action-packed role. From roads, drains and underpasses, he will now handle foodgrains and price crash. Subramanya, after heading the BBMP for close to two years, was transferred on Saturday to the agriculture department. “My tenure was satisfying. The new man has the ability and confidence to take things forward. He is known for providing good results,’’ Subramanya said after handing over the baton to Meena. He had come in just when the BMP had grown to BBMP in 2007.
FIRST DAY
FIRST SHOW
It was a very busy
and interesting day. I
spent most of the
time browsing
through files. On the first day, I found there’s a lot of work to be done. The expectations are high. The spot visit in the morning helped me get a hang of it. Such visits will be a part of my routine. Bharat Lal Meena |
BBMP COMMISSIONER