Superstition at citizens’ expense

Ever since taking charge, the Mayor has abided by the religious-seeming ways. The very first day, he did not enter the office till an abhishek of Ganesh was performed by a priest. Now, he has got a new entrance to his chamber in the name of vastushastra.

And not for a pittance. Over Rs 2 lakh were expended in the name of vastushastra. There were changes made in the bathroom, the ante-chamber, new sofas were commissioned and so were other luxurious things for the office. The old door faced the council hall. It has been replaced by a brick construction as the vastushastra expert had told the Mayor that it would affect his career adversely. Thus the newly-constructed building of the council hall, got a new change.

The toilet has been shifted to an adjoining site causing inconvenience to the staff. The ante-chamber has been removed totally making the cabin larger with a sitting capacity of over 50.

The vastushastra faith of the Mayor has also Municipal Commissioner Mandalekar in trouble. Earlier, there was a private cabin for the commissioner in the mayor’s chamber to relax for a few moments during civic body meetings. Now the cabin is being renovated. So the commissioner has to either go to his office in the old building or wait somewhere near the mayor’s office.

According to the city engineer’s office, the expenditure has not been disclosed to anyone. The Mayor claims that it is just Rs 1.5 lakh. But many say it is over Rs 3 lakh. The Mayor declined to disclose the amount and changed the topic of discussion.

However, Karampuri agrees that he is a religious person with deep faith in vastushastra. He cited examples of progress achieved after changing the door. However, many people call the Mayor superstitious. Communist Party of India (Marxist) corporator N.C. Kongari has lambasted the Mayor for misleading the citizen. He said citizens are worried about pot-holes on roads, poor drinking water supply and non-existent drainage. “And the Mayor is behaving like a king of England,” they say. “This is mockery of people, who pay the taxes,” Kongari said.

Janata Dal corporator Suresh Tamshetty and a few others expressed their displeasure while the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena-dominated opposition was curiously silent over the issue. A member said the Mayor compensated his extravagance with a brand new car for the standing committee chairman, a BJP man.