Traffic Police raise objection citing congestion, work on clock tower halted again

Mangaluru: Work on the clock tower roundabout near State Bank has been halted after the Traffic Police objected to the work citing congestion of traffic flow.

This is the fifth time that the work on the clock tower has been stopped since the work began in November of 2019.

The Traffic Police objected to the construction works, stating that the roundabout designed by the MCC consultants, will cause a hindrance to the flow of the vehicles. The main issue lies with the fact that, around the proposed area, there is an indiscriminate or paid parking being allowed, causing congestion of traffic.

A delegation led by the MCC Mayor Diwakar Pandeshwar, standing committee chairpersons, MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar, Managing Director of Mangaluru Smart City Ltd (MSCL) Mohammed Nazeer, Arun Prabha (GM-Tech at MSCL), ACPs Nataraj and Vinay Gaonkar, other higher police officials, corporators, MCC and Smart City officials, and others inspected the site on September 24 to understand the plans. 

The MCC Consultant / IDF Dharmaraj explained the proposed design of the clock tower in detail, however, the elected representatives objected saying that there were a lot of complaints from the public regarding the construction work and that the Traffic Police were also objecting to the same as a larger roundabout would inconvenience the public. 

Dharmaraj, however, explained that there was adequate space as shown by the site measurements. After prolonged deliberations, it was agreed that work would continue as planned once all the widening work at the junction is completed.

In the meantime, the Smart City officials have been instructed to concretize the roundabout area and the two smaller circles binding the clock tower will be developed as per plan.

MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar, Mayor Diwakar, ACP’s Nataraj and Gaonkar urged the MCC Consultant to expedite the change of plans and the work to prevent inconvenience to the commuters.

Meanwhile, the non-functioning clocks mounted on the tower will be fixed after the other work is completed. Plans for the roundabout include a mini garden with a small bridge an entry-way to the clock tower. 

Soon after the inspection of the clock tower, the delegation moved to the 120-year-old well that was recently discovered to decide on its future.