Mayor threatens to commit suicide

Mayor of Belgaum Yallappa Kurubarhas threatened to commit suicide, if the slaughterhouses located in Auto Nagar and Kanbaragi are not shifted within 15 days.  He is frustrated after his repetitive pleas to the concerned to shift the slaughterhouses outside these areas, failed to get the desired result.

The general session of the Corporation's council had earlier passed a resolution for shifting these slaughterhouses. The slaughterhouses are flouting hygiene norms and throwing pieces of flesh and animal waste etc., into the lakes. The animals get sick after drinking water from the lakes. District administration has identified a site near Kakati village for relocating the slaughterhouses.

 

Source: Daijiworld

Yallappa Kurbar most likely Mayor

List of Mayors of Belgaum from 1984 to 2004: Sambhaji Patil only Mayor in country to be elected 4 times

Belgaum City Corporation is in news always for wrong reasons. But I have some amazing information for you.
 History was created with Sambhaji Patil becoming the only person in the country to be elected Mayor of a city for the fourth time in 2003. I tried to search if someone has broken his record, but I could not find it.

 

 

 See the list of mayors from 1984 onwards, Vandana Belgundkar was elected Mayor on 2 occasions and Belgaum has seen 5 female mayors.

Belgaum Mayor	From	To
Subhash Jadhav	12-01-1984	1-01-1985
Maloji Ashtekar	12-01-1985	11-01-1986
Sharad R Joshi	12-01-1986	11-01-1987
Nagesh Sateri	12-01-1987	11-01-1988
Nagendra Haibatti	12-01-1988	31-12-1988
Sambhaji Patil	25-04-1990	29-06-1991
Siddangouda Patil	30-06-1991	25-12-1992
Sambhaji Patil	26-12-1992	28-12-1993
Ramesh Kudachi	29-12-1993	01-05-1995
Vijaylaxmi Chopde	15-12-1996	15-02-1997
Govind Raut	15-12-1997	30-03-1998
Appasaheb Pujari	30-03-1998	30-03-1999
Sambhaji Patil	30-03-1999	17-04-2000
Shivaji Sunthkar	17-04-2000	13-02-2001
Vandana Belgundkar	16-06-2001	296-06-2002
Nilima Chavan	29-06-2002	30-06-2003
Sambhaji Patil	30-06-2003	03-09-2004
Vandana Belgundkar	03-09-2004	05-09-2005
Vijay More	05-09-2005	27-11-2005
Prashanta Budavi	04-03-2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See the Current Members of the Corporation.

HC notice to Mayor on postponement of polls

The Dharwad-based High Court’s Circuit Bench on Thursday issued notice to the Belgaum Mayor, Belgaum City Corporation Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner to appear in the court of Justice Mohan Shantanagoudar on Monday in connection with a writ petition challenging the decision of the Mayor to postpone the mayoral election.


Corporator Dhanraj Gauli had filed the petition challenging the decision of the Mayor and returning officer Prashanta Budavi to postpone the election of Mayor and Deputy Mayor scheduled to be held here on March 13.

Source: The Hindu

Belgaum Mayor election postponed until 30 march

The election for the office of Mayor and Dy.Mayor of Belgaum, which was declared to be held on 13 March, now has been postponed until 30 March citing law and order problems.The city corporation office has to be shifted to the new premises before 16 March. As there is Holi, the authorities cited law and order problems and the election has been postponed.

Mayor hot seat recipe: All trying to get it done

MES (Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti) is trying hard to regain its lost glory and also the post of Mayor. The chances have risen for them after a split in the Kannada group.

The MES needs 5 more corporators with it and it can see its Mayor for this it is talks with the splintered Kananda group, Belgaum Development Front.

The Sarvabhashik Samavichar Vedike & Belgaum Development Front mostly constituted by Kannada & Urdu corporators mainly wants a Kannada mayor but internal brawl within themselves can become a positive for MES.

But amongst all this the votes of the 4 MLAs and MP will be very crucial. Its election time and without the Marathi votes it would be rather difficult for the BJP to regain the seat. Be sure there could be surprises in store here. At least two of the MLAs could support MES.

Corporators Natraj Lohar, Firdose Darga, Shanta Upar and Khalid Siddiqi from the BDF are vying to be nominated by the BDF for th mayor’s post, while the tussle is between Latif Pathan and Gouresh Kammar in the SSV. MES corporators Dhanraj Gavali, Ravindra Mirajkar and Devendra Haval are hoping one of them will be picked to contest the mayoral election.

All the three groups are busy making plans of how to show the other, the sky. As the time comes closer this debate will heat up and what happens on the night before will be the deciding point.

For us Belgaumites, who so ever will be the Mayor won’t impact us in any manner. What have earlier Mayors do for Belgaum, in fact let’s take a Quiz on this?

Who is the present Mayor of Belgaum?
Source: Deccan Chronicle

Mayor of Belgaum this time could be Marathi
At the fag end of the Mayors term of the Belgaum city Corporation the ruling Pro Kannada Sarvabhashik Samavichar Vedike seems to have a split and chances this time that the mayor could be from the Marathi group have strengthened.
The 29 Pro Kannada corporators who were able to elect Prashanta Budvai as the Mayor are now complaining that she did very little for the city in a corporation, which is dominated by Marathi group.
At her last meeting most of the corporators did not turn up and its now said they have formed a new forum. This is a successful conclusion for the Marathi group as they can come back to power in corporation where there has been Marathi mayor since its inception in 1984, except on two occasions.
Twenty-two corporators of the Sarvabhashik Samavichar Vedike, a forum of the pro-Kannada faction, have parted ways with it to form a new outfit.

Source: Deccan Chronicle

Meetings on: Horse-trading can happen again in Mayor election

After the reservations for the office of Mayor and Dy.Mayor were declared, all the corporators are busy in meetings in various hotels to find the luck one.
Both the ruling Sarvabhashik Samvichari Vikas front and the Marathi speaking opposition are trying their best to get the hands on both offices. The elections for both offices are likely to be held in the first week of March, so we could get a new Mayor by then. Hope there is some change in Belgaum then.

Reservations for Belgaum mayor and Dy.Mayor

The Mayor of the Belgaum city corporation for the forthcoming term will be from the Backward Classes A and the office of Dy.Mayor is reserved for the General (women).

Belgaum deputy mayor arrested

The Deputy Mayor of Belgaum, Yunis Momin, and his supporter Babajaan Matwale were arrested on Wednesday by the Khade Bazaar police on the charge of committing offence under Section 3(1) (10) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Basement game: Mayor in a fix

Mayor Prashanta Budavi and officials of Belgaum City Corporation were at the receiving end with the Opposition benches questioning their double standards on illegal encroachments and open violations of the corporation rules on utilising basement-spaces. Taken aback at this, Ms. Budavi looked towards Sambhaji Patil for answers, when the Council sat for post-lunch session here on Monday.

Opposition member Netaji Jadhav alleged that the corporation recently removed illegal encroachment of basement meant for vehicle parking from a huge building housing a retail superstore on Khanapur Road in the city (i.e.Talwalkars in the basement of Big Bazaar) . However, in sharp contrast to this welcome measure and rules, the Mayor inaugurated a ‘Mangal Karyalaya’ in the basement of a different structure at Khadebazar.

However, after a more than hour of debate, the mayor announced to convene a meeting exclusively to discuss the issue and evolve a comprehensive policy soon.
Corporation Commissioner P.A. Meghannvar rejected the Opposition’s demand to reopen the gymnasium (Talwalkars), which was closed down as it was running in the basement. He said it was not possible for him to reopen the gymnasium once locked until there was a fresh order from the Government. In contrast to its own demand, the Opposition said that no outlet already running in basements should be closed, even if they were illegal.

Now look at this, the mayor on one hand locks the basement and in another context, she herself opens a Mangal Karlaya in a Basement. Now this is Policy! The mayor is in a fix now she cannot open the Gym and she now will be forced to make a new policy.
To begin with, we must all understand the crux of the problem. See Maruti Galli where you will find the highest number of complexes and all or a few have parking all others have shops established in them. This causes a lot of parking problem on the street. If the parking space were there in the basement for each complex, the situation would have been different. We need to think and also the policy makers, need to rethink before they act.
Source The Hindu

Belgaum corporation meeting ends abruptly

Agenda passed without discussion; Mayor walks out
Opposition members put Mayor in an embarrassing position
People feel sorry at their representatives’ behaviour

Wednesday’s meeting of the Belgaum City Corporation, which witnessed pandemonium on several occasions, was abruptly adjourned as it happened the last time on June 21.

However, the meeting concluded with one of the corporators belonging to the ruling group announcing that the House had passed the day’s agenda without any discussion, leaving the entire Opposition in a state of shock and confusion.

Mayor Prashanta K. Budavi and ruling group members walked out of the Council Hall immediately thereafter.
Opposition leaders Balasab Kakatkar, Kiran Sayanak and Dhanraj Gauli reacted sharply to the “undemocratic” style of functioning and said they were in shock and confused. This is not the way the ruling group should function, Mr. Gauli said.

The meeting took off on a stormy note with the Opposition Marathi group questioning the volte-face by the Mayor on her decision taken at the last meeting that she would not convene a council meeting till the Government transferred Commissioner P.A. Meghannavar.

The Opposition also demanded that the Mayor explain her stand on the issue in view of the ruling group describing the Mayor’s decision as “personal”.
In the last meeting, Ms. Budavi had expressed helplessness over the alleged non-cooperative attitude of Mr. Meghannavar and his interference in the Mayor’s responsibilities by bringing in certain issues on the agenda without her notice and announced that the Government would be requested to transfer him. She had also declared that she would not convene a meeting till Mr. Meghannavar was transferred. Her decision had been recorded in the proceedings of the meeting.

When the ruling benches defended the Mayor saying that the contents in the proceedings were personal and asked the Opposition to ignore the matter and allow the meeting to take up issues confronting the people, the Opposition demanded that the Mayor explain whether she corroborated the views of the ruling group members and put her in an embarrassing position.
However, giving in to the Opposition’s demand and in view of the weak defence put up by the ruling benches in the absence of their group leader Sambhaji Patil, Ms. Budavi announced that she would withdraw her remarks on Mr. Meghannavar and pleaded with the Opposition that they should allow the meeting to take up the matters slated in the agenda.

Yet, the Opposition harped on the same issue even after the Mayor repeated her request five times. And, all the while they said that they were not against the development of the city.
The Opposition members also demanded that the Mayor explain her stand in Marathi. This, despite Ms. Budavi’s repeated submission that she could not speak Marathi though she understood the language.

Even the requests made by two MLAs, Feroz Sait (Congress) and Abhay Kumar Patil (BJP), that linguistic differences should not be brought into picture and that they should concentrate on development issues failed to make any impact on the Opposition members. As the arguments and counter arguments continued in the post-lunch session and what was later clarified to media persons that it was “slip of the tongue” on the part of Ms. Budavi to say that she would speak in Kannada as she was a “Kannadiga Mayor”, the Marathi group wasted no moment in entering the well of the House and staging a dharna in protest against such a “partisan behaviour” of the Mayor.

Left with no way out, the ruling group member, Parshuram Dhage, suddenly flashed a copy of the agenda for the day and declared that all of the issues in it had been passed.
With that the Mayor and the ruling group corporators walked out of the meeting hall, which apparently was a post-lunch strategy to save the situation from turning worse.
However, many in the gallery meant for the public felt sorry at the behaviour of their elected representatives who had no time to discuss the people’s problems and development of the city even when Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had offered to develop Belgaum into a “model city”.
Those who spoke on behalf of the ruling group included N.B. Nirwani, Rajan Hulbatte, Deepak Waghela and Feroz Darga.

Belgaum Mayor seeks infrastructure fund

Source The Hindu
Requests Chief Minister to speed up establishment of Apparel Park

Administrative work hit as corporation employees go on leave en masse

Source The Hindu

Summons issued

The Principal District Judge, Arun Choudapurkar, on Thursday issued notices to the Regional Commissioner Amita Prasad, Belgaum City Corporation Commissioner P.A. Meghanavar and Mayor Prashanta Shantinath Budavi following a petition from corporators Neelima Pawashe and Arun Gauli belonging to the Marathi group in the corporation council. Ms. Pawashe and Mr. Gauli have challenged the election of the Mayor citing irregularities in the conduct of the election. Subsequently, the district judge issued summons to three officials and two corporators Shanta Uppar and Jyoti Bhavikatti, who had also contested for the post last month and directed the respondents to appear before him on April 19.
Source: The Hindu

Belgaum gets its second Kannada-speaking Mayor

Source : The Hindu
SURPRISE WINNERS: Prashanta Shantinath Budavi (left) and Yunis B. Momin who were elected as Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Belgaum respectively on Tuesday.
Belgaum: A Kannada-speaking candidate on Tuesday was elected Mayor of Belgaum, which is considered a stronghold of the Maharashtra Ekikarani Samiti (MES). The MES lost the Deputy Mayor’s post to an Urdu-speaking candidate.
Regional Commissioner, Amita Prasad, who officiated as Returning Officer, declared Prashanta Shantinath Budavi elected as Mayor and Yunis B. Momin elected as Deputy Mayor.
The post of Mayor was reserved for woman (general) and that of Deputy Mayor for “general”. Ms. Budavi and Mr. Momin polled 30 votes each as against 28 votes polled by MES candidates Neelima Paushe and Netaji Balu Mangutkar. The Kannada organisations and workers, who had all the reasons to celebrate the victory, had to be content with offering floral tributes to the statue of Rani Channamma at Channamma Circle, thanks to the prohibitory orders in force.
Ms. Budavi and Mr. Momin belong to Sarvabhashik Samvichar Vikas Vedike floated by a Kannada-Urdu speaking corporators with the help of a small breakaway group of MES led by the former Mayor Sambhaji Patil.
Belgaum MP Suresh C. Angadi, who did not vote in the past mayoral polls, yielded to pressure from the BJP leadership and Kananda groups and cast his vote in favour of the vedike candidates.
Thirty-seven-year-old Ms. Budavi hails from Kittur. She is the wife of Shantinath Budavi, City president of Kannada Rakshana Vedike. A home-maker, she represents Ward No.58 in the Council. Mr. Momin, 44, is a Science graduate and represents Ward No. 47 in the city.
However, Ms. Budavi is the second Kannada-speaking candidate to be elected Mayor. The first Kannada candidate who held the Mayor’s post was veteran Kannada leader Siddangouda Patil from June 30, 1991 to December 25, 1992.
The then Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government led by the former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh had yielded to pressure from Kannada organisations and on November 21, 2005 superseded the corporation Council headed by the then Mayor Vijay Pandurang More for taking a stand favouring merger of areas dominated by Marathi-speaking people in Belgaum with Maharashtra.
Ms. Budavi and Mr. Momin expressed their gratitude to SSVV members, their leader Sambhaji Patil and Mr. Angadi for their election.
The reservation for women has ensured 16 women being elected to the civic body in September 2007 polls. Ever since the formation of the corporation, four of the 19 Mayoral terms hitherto, were led by three women corporators. Vijayalakshmi Vishnu Chopde was the first woman Mayor who completed her term from February 15, 1996 to February 15, 1997.
Vandana Mohan Belgundkar was the only woman to have served two full mayoral terms in same Council from June 16, 2001 to June 19, 2002 and later again from September 3, 2004 to September 5, 2005. Neelima Chavhan was the third woman to head the Council from June 29, 2002 to June 29, 2003.
Also, five deputy mayoral terms were served by four women members — Kusuma Krishna Tapale (Mayor 24, 1990 to June 29, 1991), Gourabai Jaipal Londe (February 15, 1997 to March 30, 1998), Asma Tahsildar (April 17, 2000 to February 13, 2001) and Veena Kolkar (from June 16 to 19, 2001 and June 30, 2003 to September 3, 2004). Unity paid off
Mr. Angadi has attributed the victory of Kannada speaking candidate belonging to Sarvabhashik Samvichar Vikas Vedike as Mayor of the 58-member corporation to the vedike members who remained united until the end. He told The Hindu soon after the results of the Mayoral polls were declared here on Tuesday afternoon that the credit should go to all the corporators, including the Urdu and two Marathi-speaking corporators who were united under the banner of the vedike to create a history of sorts.
Nobody else could claim the success of the vedike candidates, he said. Kannada Rakshana Vedike’s office-bearer said that but Mr. Angadi’s vote, no body else in the city or district came forward to support the vedike.

Kannada Mayor after 26 years

Mrs.Prashanta Budvi is the new Mayor for Belgaum and Mr.Younis Momin is the Dy.Mayor.
After 26 years Kannada group has made it to the Mayors post and the king maker Shambhaji Patil played his cards correctly.

Urdu corporators fix trade at Rs 15 lakh

Even after assuring deputy mayor's post, the eight member Urdu speaking corporators of Belgaum City Corporation, have demanded Rs 15 lakh from Kannada group to stand in favour of them in the mayoral polls.However, the Kannada faction which was all prepared for the elections have agreed for the new demand with a condition of not to support the Urdu group in the elections to deputy mayor's post. Urdu group, according to sources, was expected to withdraw the demand to enjoy the deputy mayor's post.Kannada corporators are angry on former MLA Ramesh Kudachi and Deputy Speaker in Legislative Council Sachidanand Khot for not showing interest in the mayoral polls. The 11 member Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi was trying to dominate the 18 member Marathi speaking corporator group. Renu Killekar, Manda Balekundri, Neelima Pawase and Anita Kutre are in the race for mayor elections. MES, according to sources, has ‘auctioned' the mayor's seat for which the lowest ‘EDM' is Rs 10 lakh. Neelima is the favourate candidate as she, according to sources, is a successful ‘bidder'. The sum of EMD, except successful bidder, is refundable.MES may field Sambhaji Chavan for deputy mayor's post as he once was a strong contender of Sambhajirao Patil. Kannada aspirant candidates- Jyoti Bhavikatti, Shanta Uppar and Prashnata Budavi, according sources, have given Rs 6 lakh each to a senior corporator to make them first citizen of the city.
source: New Indian Express

Corporators come out of hibernation

Source: The NewIndian Express

Things getting hotter for the Post of Mayor

The election of the post of Mayor and Dy.Mayor will be held on 4th of March. It has been over 4 months the corporators have been elected but the city did not have a Mayor. The tug of war between Kannada group and Marathi group is on its acme. The best thing is the equation is 30-29 in favor of the Kannada group. The urdu group is with the Kannada Group. The marathi group has been taken to somewhere in Konkan area so that there is no more infighting and divide.
If the situation goes as it is now a Kannada group mayor is certain this time I guess.

But in politics anything can happen. I will keep you all posted.