‘Assembly of hundreds of construction workers at Urwa Store every morning inconveniences public’

Participants at the Scheduled Castes/Tribes grievances meeting with the city police on Sunday said the presence of a large number of construction workers in the morning affects the movement of people and vehicles in the Urwa Store area in Mangaluru.

Participants at the Scheduled Castes/Tribes grievances meeting with the city police on Sunday said the presence of a large number of construction workers in the morning affects the movement of people and vehicles in the Urwa Store area in Mangaluru.

Raising the issue at the meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioners of Police Siddarth Goel and B.P. Dinesh Kumar here, Sadashiva Urva Store said besides affecting movement of people and vehicles, the assembled workers also litter the place. Many times, construction equipment and vehicles are stationed at Urwa Store before being taken to the respective construction sites thereby affecting the public, he said.

DCP (Crime and Traffic) Dinesh Kumar said the problem was recurring despite the traffic police cautioning people about this assembly. The police would summon contractors concerned and direct them to make proper arrangement in any nearby open space, he said.

Stressing the need for installing CCTV cameras in Dalit colonies, Anil Kankanady said it was required to keep a tab on youngsters lest they might get addicted to vices. He said though the Mangaluru City Corporation has claimed of taking steps in this regard, the measures appear to have been taken on the city fringes. It should also be installed within the city, he demanded. Mr. Kumar said the MCC would be intimated in this regard.

Stating that many educational institutions still do not allow vehicles transporting students inside their campus, S.P. Anand said this results in traffic chaos on roads abutting the institutions. Though St. Gerosa School in Valencia has enough space on its premises, the management does not allow vehicles inside. Consequently, traffic chaos is witnessed on Fr. Muller Road when children are dropped and picked up. Mr. Urva Store said Bethany School has changed the school timing itself to tide over such a crisis.

The police said similar problems persist in many educational institutions in the city. The police are constantly holding meetings with managements to address this. Some institutions prohibit vehicles entry to safeguard students’ safety, they said.

Assistant Commissioners of Police Najma Farooqi, K Srikanth, Ravish S Nayak, Dhanya Nayak and others were present.