‘Re-establishing name of port city top priority’

Re-establishing the name of the port city which has been tarnished due to moral policing activities and curbing drug menace are main two areas which needs urgent focus, said newly elected Mangalore South MLA J R Lobo.

Addressing his first press meet as MLA, after election, Lobo said that Mangalore is known to be an education and commercial hub. However, the City’s name has been spoilt due to communal intolerance and attack on youth. Due to this, students from other places think twice to take up studies in Mangalore. Business in the city is also affected.

There is a need to reinstate Mangalore’s name. Maintenance of law and order is important, he stressed.

People have shown that they trust Congress by bringing the party to power. The party shall keep up people’s trust, he said.

Speaking on the developmental works he intends to take up, he said that the work on the second vented dam is going in a snail’s pace. There is a need to complete the dam to enable 24X7 water supply in the city.

Mangalore does not have a city bus-stand nor a moffusil bus-stand. Many city markets are in a poor state and needs attention. Concretisation of city roads and construction of Rangamandira needs to be completed, he said.

Mangalore needs a dock, tourism needs to be developed and sports talents need to be encouraged. The district needs a think tank, and a committee needs to be formed, he said and also stressed that politics should not be mixed with development.

There are a lot of loop-holes in Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP). “I shall definitely re-loop CDP. Mangala Corniche, the rope-way bridge and other development works in pipeline will be looked into and completed,” he said.

He added that he has plans to re-constitute the Mangalore Task Force Committee.
“I have assured not to raise taxes in the manifesto. If the Urban Local Bodies effectively collect their resources and manage them intelligently, there is no need to increase taxes,” he re-iterated. Though corruption cannot be completely uprooted, it can be definitely reduced. Rules should be simpler, there should be vigilance on officers and staff and people should have morality to battle corruption, opined Lobo.

Answering to a query on transfer of officers in the constituency as Congress has come into power, Lobo said that he shall not question the morality of the officers. Officers will not be transferred as of now, he said.

Lobo said that he shall stick to the promises he made in his manifesto. “I have plans to form a committee to discuss the works taken up. With this, we can improve works and find solutions to problems,” he said.