Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Nalluri demands council meet

VISAKHAPATNAM: Telugu Desam Party Floor Leader in the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, Nalluri Bhaskara Rao, on Wednesday demanded convening of the council meeting immediately failing which his party would hold a ‘mock council meeting’ on Friday to highlight the pressing problems of people and the miserable failure of the Mayor and the officials to tackle them.

It was in July that the last meeting of the council was held, he said, recalling the Mayor’s assurance that council meetings would be conducted in the last week of every month. The Mayor failed to keep his word, he said. A request with the signatures of 32 Corporators for a meeting of the council was given to the Mayor, but there was no response.

Speaking to media persons, he produced paper clippings, which highlighted scams in every department including health, town planning, revenue etc. ‘Every morning we have to bend our heads in shame because of these scams’, he said, specifically mentioning scam reports in respect of purchase of furniture, chappals, use of petrol.

Mobilisation advances to the tune of Rs.30 crore had been released to contractors without the approval the Council. Answering questions on the reported involvement of some Corporators in the scams, he saids ‘ If Rs 14 crore was given to Corporators in respect of BRTS works, as reported in a section of press, how much money could have been pocketed by the officials? he asked and demanded a thorough enquiry into the whole episode.

‘When we question officials about these scams, they were trying to blackmail us by planting stories that we are demanding donations for our parties.’ Mr.Bhaskara Rao, alleged.

According to him the new Commissioner, Sreedhar is yet to establish his grip over the administration.

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