Initiatives for a clean city…..

Fast emerging as the neat IT destination after the state capital Bangalore, Mysore is all set to roll out the red carpet for the IT sector. As in the case of Bangalore, it will be this sector, which will twist the tale of the city’s destiny. While Bangalore’s civil infrastructure and development fell in place after witnessing the IT boom and catered to the IT growth, Mysore is giving top priority to putting its infrastructure in place first, in order to woo the IT sector and boost its economy.

The civic affairs in the city are being geared up to meet the huge demand that the city will witness in the coming months. Mysore City Corporation.

How do you proposed to ensure that the city wears a clean and hygienic look?

Garbage – free Mysore is top priority for us now. The onus is on keeping the drains clean, seeing to it that garbage is disposed off effectively, and keeping the wards hygienic and clean. In this regard, we have privatized 50% of the wards. We are quite strict whan it comes to enforcing the required cleanliness norms with the private agencies. They are levied heavy fines of up to Rs 25,000 if they fail to abide by our stipulated condition. But these private players have been performing well and are maintaining cleanliness in these wards.

Do you have plans to involve the public in this cleanliness drive?

We have to change the mindset of the people first. Even the educated sections of the populace have to be enlightened on the issues pertaining to garbage disposal. We are going to lunch a door – to – door campaign on how to manage waste. For this we are going to involve 700 Stree Shakti Sanghas for door – to – door collection of garbage. The Corporation will provide them with all the facilities. They will only have to collect the waste, and we will lift it to the treatment plant.

With the monsoon having set-in, is the city’s drainage system geared up for the season?

We are getting the drains cleared. However, work on the bigger drains will start in the next 15 days. We require a lot of funds to accomplish this.

What are the major citizen-friendly initiatives being taken up by the MCC?

Our approach has been citizen – friendly and service – oriented. 25 roads have been declared pothole-free and are being maintained throughout the year. Cleanliness drives have also been launched for mjor roads like DD Urs Road. The problem of water supply is almost solved; we are on the beat at night to see to it that all the streetlights are operational.

What about lung space in the city?

Our vision for the city is to see it develop as a green city too. To realize this vision, we have identified one park in each ward. 65 parks like these will be developed to ensure that the people get good parks. Another major project that the MCC has taken up is the Rs 65 – lakh Curzon Park development plan.

Through the year now

Mysore has significant potential to become a major global destination in the industry related to hotel and tourism. Both these industries are waking up to the potential of domestic as well as international need to tourists. The hotel industry is closely linked with the tourism like promotion of tourism and rappid progress has given a boost to hoteliering in the city.

The Mysore tourism industry is thriving due to an increase in foreign tourists descending here like never before. The visitors are pouring in form Europe, UK, USA, South America and at the same time, the increased domestic tourists are also fuelling the industry’s revival. RahulSexena, PRO and manager at the Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel says that there has been a tremendous influx of tourists in the last 2-3 years, as most of their clients are foreign nationals and all possible arrangements are made to make them feel at home. “Earlier off-season was from September to March, but now the trend has gone. Tourist are visiting the city round the year, and that’s amazing,” he explains.

Recently, many deluxe hotels have been giving the tourism industry a boost. Hotels in the city have understood that the only way to survive is to deliver quality service to the customer. The hospitality industry has taken up the task of providing guests with an unprecedented level of comfort. Traveling is now no more limited to leisure tourism as people travel extensively for the sake of business and hotels are cashing in no this trend.

“ Today the utility of a hotel is not just limited to being a place of relaxation, it is also used as a place for meeting and holding conferences. No wonder hotels across the city are equipping themselves to meet this need,” adds saxena.

Promotional measures

The Karnataka government has adopted a multi – programmed approach for the promotion of tourism. This includes new mechanisms for implementing tourism projects, wide campaign for creating awareness about effects of tourism and preservation of rich heritage, cleanliness and warm hospitality through the process of training and orientation.

Development of related industry

The development of tourism has paved way for the improvement of related industries such as handicrafts, constructions, poultry, horticulture and so on. “ There could be several other reasons for the buoyancy in these industries in the city. The upwards trend observed in the growth rate of the spending capacity of the people, the clean and pollution – free environment and excellent catering to the requirements of the tourists,”

With development in this sector burgeoning, the day is nor far when the city of Mysore will become a great holiday destination on par with the global hotspots.      more