East Corporation prepares for ‘Bengaluru Jatre’

BENGALURU Civic leaders in East Bengaluru are ramping up preparations for a massive upcoming cultural festival while cracking down on delayed municipal work. During a high-level review meeting, East City Corporation Commissioner D.S. Ramesh outlined strict orders for local officials, focusing heavily on upcoming celebrations, road repairs, illegal structures, and public grievance systems. The primary focus centered on the grand "Bengaluru Jatre," scheduled to run from December 4 to 13, 2026. The cultural festival will feature major, medium, and mini community events across various zones. ITI Limited and the Dasara Grounds at Pattandur Agrahara have been selected to host medium events, while ten distinct locations across the K.R. Puram and Mahadevapura zones will host mini daily programs. Commissioner Ramesh urged teams to arrange professional stages, sound systems, and lighting, while actively involving local artists, colleges, and residents through sports competitions, walkathons, and food festivals. Beyond the upcoming festivities, the Commissioner issued sharp warnings regarding slow municipal performance. He expressed deep dissatisfaction that not a single ward has achieved a pothole-free status four months after initial targets were set. Officials were ordered to personally inspect their streets and patch every hole immediately without waiting for citizens to complain. Progress on road asphalting and concrete projects under the CMIDP also faced intense scrutiny, with orders to finish all pending work within the month. Furthermore, Ramesh criticized divisions that failed to issue demolition notices to unauthorized buildings and illegal paying guest accommodations, instructing executive engineers to prioritize immediate teardowns. To clean up public spaces, teams were told to scrap abandoned roadside vehicles and clear long-standing bottlenecks. On the digital front, upcoming training sessions on November 12 will ensure that all staff members properly track and resolve local complaints registered through the Sahaya mobile application. Zonal joint commissioners, chief engineers, and additional developers attended the meeting, committing to faster civic delivery and community engagement.