MCC council meeting stalled as BJP protests demanding a regular Commissioner

November 28, 2014

Mangaluru, Nov 28: Chaos erupted at the general meeting of Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) on Thursday as the BJP corporators and workers staged protest both inside and outside the council for not posting a regular Commissioner to the civic body.

The Opposition members stormed into the well of the house as mayor Mahabala Marla started his address. BJP members protested urging the state government to appoint a permanent commissioner for MCC. The post of commissioner has been vacant ever since the last officer S Ajith Kumar Hegde has been moved on July 15. Currently, joint commissioner Gokuldas Nayak has been working as the in-charge commissioner.

Council Opposition leader Premanand Shetty alleged two Congress ministers are involved in inter-party politics with regard to the appointment of MCC commissioner.

"Due to this, the post of the commissioner is remaining vacant for nearly five months. We have requested the mayor, MLAs, ministers, state government and later held protests too for the appointment of a permanent commissioner. Holding a council general meeting in the absence of a permanent commissioner is not logical. Several development works are pending due to the vacancy of commissioner's post," Premanand said and urged that the post should be filled immediately.

Though mayor requested BJP corporators to stop the protest and participate in the council meet, the Opposition members continued their protest shouting slogans against the government, district in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai and minister for urban development Vinay Kumar Sorake.

When BJP corporators refused to stop the protest, Mayor discontinued the meet and later told reporters that all the agenda of the meet have been approved.

Approvals have been given and decisions were taken on various proposals including installing LED street lights, 25 development works under the third phase of chief ministers sanction of Rs 100 crore, appointment of nearly 100 technical staff in the health section on contract, road widening, filling pot-holes, renaming of Valencia - Koti Chennaya Circle road into Wilfy Rebimbus road and naming one of the circles in the city as 'Rashtrakavi Kuvempu road'.

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QR-code tips power Mangaluru's major drug bust: 25 arrested in 2 weeks

News Network

December 16,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 16: The Mangaluru City police have significantly escalated their campaign against drug trafficking, arresting 25 individuals and booking 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of illicit substances, including 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of ganja.

The success of this recent drive has been significantly boosted by the city’s innovative, QR code-based anonymous reporting system.

"The anonymous reporting system has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers," said the City Police Commissioner.

The latest arrests contribute to a robust year-to-date record, underscoring the police's relentless commitment to combating the drug menace.

Up to December 14 this year, the police have registered a total of 107 cases of drug peddling, leading to the arrest of 219 peddlers. Furthermore, they have booked 562 cases of drug consumption, resulting in the arrest of 671 individuals.

The scale of the seizure for the year reflects the magnitude of the problem being tackled: police have seized 320.6 kg of ganja worth ₹88.7 lakh and 1.4 kg of MDMA valued at ₹1.2 crore. Other significant seizures include hydro-weed ganja worth ₹94.7 lakh and cocaine worth ₹1.9 lakh, among others.

The Commissioner emphasized a policy of rigorous enforcement: "We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence."

To counter the rising trend of substance abuse among youth, the Mangaluru City police have rolled out uniform guidelines for random drug testing across educational institutions.

As part of the drive, tests were conducted in approximately 100 institutions, screening an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 students in the first phase. 20 students tested positive for drug consumption during the initial screening.

Students who tested positive have been provided counselling and are scheduled for re-testing in the second quarter. The testing will also be expanded to students not covered in the first phase. In a move to ensure strict implementation, police personnel were deployed in mufti in some institutions. Reiterating a zero-tolerance stance, the Commissioner confirmed that random testing will continue, and colleges have also been instructed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse from an early stage.

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