Mangaluru: Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) commissioner Rahul Ratnam Pandey said that the urban local body will seek funds to upgrade the underground drainage (UGD) network which was commissioned in the city in 1961.At an interaction with the media on Thursday, the commissioner said that meetings will be held with the ministers, MLAs, Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta and higher officials to implement the UGD upgrade project, which has been a major cause of concern in the city. A meeting will be held soon to open Kankanady, Urwa and Central Markets soon, he said.He said only 65% of the city has UGD while 35%, mostly in the periphery, areas do not have the network. “During the rainy season, this decades-old UGD leaks at many places and in some places our manholes have gone down. It requires Rs 1,250 crore to increase the UGD network to 100% in the city. However, the city corporation cannot provide such a huge amount. Hence, we are planning something through both the Center and the state,” the commissioner said.Since the next state cabinet meeting might happen in Mangaluru city, a request will be made through the local MLAs and minister UT Khader, he said.Additionally, wet wells of the UGD are also old with less pumping capacity. He said a detailed plan will be prepared within 20 days to improve the capacity of wet wells, keeping the population estimate up to 205. A proposal in this regard will be sent to the government, he said. On the sewage treatment plants of the city corporation, the commissioner said that the city corporation has requested the urban development department to sanction funds to ensure that plants release only treated water.To a query, the commissioner said that meetings will be held soon to discuss how the new market complexes at Urwa, Kankanady and the Central Market can be made functional at the earliest. The commissioner added that a monthly phone-in programme will be conducted starting next month to hear citizens’ suggestions and grievances.
