I will retain my seat with people's blessings: Akhanda Srinivas Murthy
As the Pulakeshinagar MLA, what all have you done to develop your constituency?
Ours is a reserved constituency and the majority of people belong to the economically weaker sections. I want to work for their development and help them lead a better life. The major issues here are water supply and sanitation. There was no proper water supply and people had to struggle every day to get drinking water. I ensured that they had adequate water by providing new connections. Sanitation was another major problem as the drains were clogged and were not cleaned for several years with the rains making things worse. Immediate action was taken and the entire underground drainage system was replaced and new pipes were laid. Then there are other issues like law and order problems, unemployment, school dropouts. These were addressed gradually but have not been solved completely for five years is too short a period. If elected again, I will take up education as a priority and ensure that there are no school dropouts in the area.
If you win the coming elections, what are your plans for Pulakeshinagar?
Winning a second term will help me to develop the constituency, as I already know the problematic areas and this will help me carry out developmental works with ease. Firstly, I would like to focus on the water and sanitation problem. In my first stint, I was able to provide water supply to almost every household, now I will work to ensure more frequent supply of water and also make sure the sanitation system is maintained properly. I would like to improve government schools and colleges and ensure there are no dropouts. I have a dream of establishing two super speciality hospitals for the economic weaker sections, who cannot afford treatment in private hospitals. As our area has numerous football players including those who have played at the international level, I would like to see the trend continue. We will construct two football stadiums and an indoor sport facility to encourage youth to take to sports.
The public from your constituency have been complaining about traffic and law and order problems.
The traffic issue has always been there and no system can regulate it, until and unless people follow traffic rules. Tannery Road and Dinnur Road are worst affected; these roads will be widened at the earliest with tender work already in progress. After the elections, the work will began. The other problem is parking space as the constituency has well known areas like Fraser Town, Mosque Road and Coles Road where numerous business establishments exist. Employees and people visiting these establishments park their vehicles on the road and this leads to congestion. A system will be brought in place to ensure there is no obstruction of traffic. There are also complaints about the law and order situation and this is being tackled by bringing in efficient police officers. I would like Pulakeshinagar to be developed on par with Jayanagar or Indiranagar.
Several areas are prone to flooding during the monsoon with people complaining of water logging and water gushing into houses but no measures have been taken to combat the problem. Why?
The monsoon season is the most difficult for residents staying in slums. To prevent flooding, storm water drains and gutters are being cleaned up. People are being convinced not to dump garbage in drains and if this is achieved, there will be no water logging or flooding.
Lastly, how confident are you about winning the election?
I have worked at the grassroot level, people know me for my work. I have always tried to be a people’s man and attended to problems personally without turning away anyone. I am confident that I will retain my seat this time too with the blessings of the people.
