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The Citizen
25-07-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Derelict Covid shelter an eyesore, threatens tourism, property values
RESIDENTS of North Beach near the Jewish Shelter are increasingly in fear of the unknown. They are witnessing the state of the dwelling deteriorating each day, posing threats of criminal activities, open fires and unwarranted foot traffic. The now-unsightly shelter was erected in 2020, during Covid19, to house the homeless. Currently 325 male inhabitants occupy 11 derelict tents, on the corner of Sylvester Ntuli Street and Molyneux Road. The original number of dwellers was half of what the shelter community is currently. A resident of one of the nearby flats lamented, 'This area is supposed to be a prime area for residents and tourists. The situation is getting out of hand, and we are really concerned. Apart from the decline of property values, we witness all sorts of suspicious characters around the shelter, drugs and alcohol use and unsanitary behaviour. People are flooding in daily.' Another resident echoed the sentiment, 'Looking outside the window has become an eyesore. At night, the unpleasing behaviour is worse. We understand and empathise with the homeless, however it is evident that the City is not playing its part in regulating and keeping the area under control. They will never go back, they need housing also, and the State must help. Until today we are asking where the Covid money is. Also Read: Morning homeless raid in North Beach brings hope to residents 'We need a way forward; the government can't just throw people in a place like this; it is unsanitary, totally inhumane, and the residents are very unhappy. You can't have people living in this kind of tents for five years.' DA PR councillor in Ward 26, Charmaine Sewshanker highlighted, 'The placement of a homeless shelter near hotels, tourist attractions and prime residential properties was a very contentious issue and not well thought out by the municipality. Hotel owners, tourists, nearby businesses and residents have raised concern about the shelter's effect on tourism, revenue and safety.' She added, 'Concerns about crime, noise, drugs and disruptions have been raised with Metro Police and city officials on numerous occasions. I do not want to criminalise the homeless but a homeless shelter attracting prostitutes and drug users is compromising the safety of the entire beachfront area.' She suggested that the city must fix up a few of the numerous abandoned buildings in the area for the homeless where they are screened and offered much needed social development support. Mahomed Essa, Beach Patrol Unit North Beach CPF chairperson, recognises the social challenges which 'cannot continue unchecked'. Also Read: Community leaders call for empathy towards homeless 'We have received growing concerns from the community regarding the Covid shelter behind Grosvenor. While the shelter was intended as a humanitarian response, its current state has raised serious safety and security issues, including alleged criminal activity, open fires, and overcrowding. 'As the North Beach CPF, our priority is community safety in partnership with SAPS and other stakeholders. The community is under strain, and our role is to ensure that everyone, residents and vulnerable groups alike, is protected through structured, lawful, and humane interventions. We are engaging the relevant authorities to urgently assess the situation, enforce by-laws, and ensure that sustainable and lawful solutions are implemented. Public safety cannot be compromised,' Essa asserted. For more from Berea Mail, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok. Click to subscribe to our newsletter – here
The Citizen
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Neglected park a haven for criminality
THE recently passed eThekwini Municipality budget has raised questions among the residents, with some community members saying it fails to address the real issues affecting people at grassroots level. Residents in Merebank are calling for the revival of Sialkot Park, which has been neglected for over seven years. The community continue to pressure eThekwini Municipality to restore the once-vibrant public space. For the 2025/26 financial year, eThekwini Municipality was allocated a total budget of R70.9b, comprising an operating budget of R63.6b and a capital budget of R7.3b. Despite the sizable allocation, residents feel their concerns remain overlooked. To read more on the budget speech, click here. Also read: Coedmore Bridge set to open by end of June Resident Satchu Annamalai said the Merebank community has long tried to maintain the park themselves, but their efforts have limitations. 'We are trying to put a plan together that includes eThekwini Municipality. We've had numerous engagements with city officials, and they promised to discuss the matter further with us,' said Annamalai. 'We've even raised funds to pay people to cut the overgrown grass, but residents cannot do everything on their own. We need regular maintenance to keep the park from becoming a haven for criminals,' he said. Annamalai noted that the community's pleas stem from ongoing criminal activities in and around the park, which has become a hiding spot for suspects and a hotspot for illegal activity. DA PR councillor, Sithembiso Ngema, confirmed that the community had expressed interest in taking over maintenance of the park if the municipality approved it. However, recent developments have caused further frustration. 'This park used to host weddings and parties. The community still sees it as a valuable space, regardless of who owns the land. Now it has become a refuge for criminals. It's difficult for security companies to chase suspects through the overgrowth,' said Ngema. Also read: Sassa grant payments delayed due to undisclosed income Ngema drew parallels to the nearby Himalaya sports grounds, where the community eventually took matters into their own hands. He expressed disappointment with the municipality's recently approved budget, claiming it fails to address critical service delivery needs in areas like Merebank and Lamontville. 'We still have ongoing sewer spillages and severe water leaks, and yet the budget does not address these issues. The DA voted against the eThekwini budget because it doesn't meet the real needs of our communities,' he said. During the recent budget speech, the mayor of eThekwini Municipality, Cyril Xaba, outlined the city's spending priorities, placing emphasis on infrastructure rehabilitation and service delivery. 'The main focus of the budget is the replacement and rehabilitation of infrastructure to ensure efficient and effective service delivery. Our capital budget has been increased by 10.3% to R7.3b to expand, replace, and upgrade infrastructure. A further 7% (R4.3b) of the operating budget has been allocated to repairs and maintenance,' said Xaba. He added that a new Water and Sanitation Turnaround Strategy has been approved by both the council and National Treasury. 'We've also met all submission deadlines related to institutional, governance, and management capacity. Our investment plan and governance roadmap have also received Treasury approval,' said Xaba. Despite these commitments, residents of Merebank said they remain sceptical and committed to advocating for change. For more Southlands Sun news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Hindustan Times
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
BJP demands special assembly session over Bengaluru stampede, seeks ₹1 cr relief for victims' kin
Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Sunday demanded that the government call a special session of the state legislature for three days, to discuss the June 4 stampede that killed 11 people, as he pointed out that people are seeking answers. The BJP leader, who reiterating the demand for resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, also announced that all his party legislators will contribute a month's salary to the kin of those deceased, who are in need, while urging the government to enhance the compensation to ₹1 crore if it is not bankrupt. Also Read | Sunil Gavaskar's bold perspective on tragic Bengaluru stampede: 'If RCB had won in first few years, there would…' The stampede occurred on June 4 evening in front of the Chinnaswamy stadium here, where a large number of people thronged to participate in the RCB team's IPL victory celebrations. Eleven people died and 56 were injured in the incident. "People of the state are raising questions: who was at fault? So, call a special session of the legislature, let there be a discussion as to who was at fault, all the violations or flouting of laws need to be discussed, whether it was by police permission, DAPR, all of this should be discussed," Ashoka said. Speaking to reporters here, he said, let there also be discussion regarding providing compensation and all about the three inquiries that have been ordered -- magisterial enquiry (to be done by Deputy Commissioner), CID probe, and one-man inquiry commission under retired High Court judge John Michael D'Cunha. Also Read | 'Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar are the main culprits': BJP protests at Vidhana Soudha over Bengaluru stampede tragedy "All inquiries are being given to Cunha, he is had sought for an inquiry headed by a sitting judge of the High Court, we will continue to demand for it. Three days special session has to be called immediately. Leader of Opposition in Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy and I will write a letter in this regard to the Assembly Speaker, Council Chairman and Chief Minister," he added. Pointing out that the government has announced compensation of ₹25 lakh to the kin of the deceased after criticism, Ashoka said, his party demands compensation of ₹1 crore each if the government is not bankrupt. A team of BJP leaders will visit the families of the deceased and try to console them, he added. Citing DCP Vidhana Soudha letter to the Secretary to the government on June 4, Ashoka hit out at the Siddaramaiah administration, and said the government did not consider what the police had said, and disregarded the conditions laid out by them to organise the victory celebrations. The DCP's letter clearly states that as the celebration event is being organised on the grand stairs of the Vidhana Soudha in a "hurry", he said, it warns that lakhs of people may gather, about the shortage of security staff, and that there will be a problem in providing bandobast. The officer further stated that, even if the event has to be held, the issuing of online or offline passes for visitors to Vidhana Soudha should be completely stopped. Also, as there are chances of the secretariat staff bringing their family members for the event, an order should be issued aimed at ensuring that this doesn't happen. It also seeks a holiday to be declared for secretariat staff to ensure that they too don't come, Ashoka pointed out. "The letter also calls for installation of more CCTV cameras in the vicinity of Vidhana Soudha and nearby places, given the large gathering expected, and highlights the need for an anti-drone system," he said and alleged that the government threw all these conditions into the "dustbin" and organised the event. Also conditions laid down by the PWD department that only 25-30 guests would be allowed on the dias was also completely violated, Ashoka said, "when the rules were flouted on the dias at Vidhana Soudha event, do you expect rules to be followed by the people at the KSCA stadium event, as you have blamed over crowing for the tragedy?" "You people (in the government) took the lives of innocent people, but police officers and the police commissioner were suspended," he chided. The victory cup was won by Virat Kohli and the RCB team but the CM and Deputy CM tried to gain credit from it by organising victory celebrations at haste, Ashoka alleged and said, "If there was no friction between these two power centres, such a situation and deaths wouldn't have happened. Because of the friction between these two, we have seen the deaths." "Instead of attending to the situation with deaths happening, and consoling the families of the deceased, while one went to the stadium to attend the victory celebrations there and kissed the trophy won by the RCB, the other had gone to eat Dosa," he alleged indirectly referring to the Deputy CM and CM. He slammed them for going on with celebrations both at Vidhana Soudha and the stadium thereafter, despite deaths due to a stampede, and called them "inhuman".
