Thiruvananthapuram Corpn. council rejects demand for Vigilance probe
The Hindu
Expenditure for cleaning activities as part of Attukal Pongala
After a couple of hours of stormy debates, the city Corporation council on Thursday rejected a demand for a Vigilance inquiry into the expenditure for the civic body’s cleaning activities as part of Attukal Pongala. The demand was rejected by 54 votes to 33, with the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) getting the support of three Independent councillors. With the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) councillors trooping into the well with placards during voting, only the 33 councillors of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) voted for the demand. The special council meeting was held following the BJP’s demand for a discussion on its allegations of corruption in sanitation activities held as part of Attukal Pongala this year. BJP councillor M.R. Gopan, who opened the debate, said that this was the first time that the expenses for Pongala cleaning, which did not take place, was being brought to the council.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.