mangalore business establishments are already reeling under the effects of recession with consumers tightening their purse strings now adding to the blow is the lethargic functioning of the government departments especially the city corporationthe corporation has undertaken a massive concretization exercise on major arterial roads in the city while ks rao road concretization has left merchants gasping for breath a similar situation is unfolding on the upper bendore to lower bendore road where concretization exercise by the corporation through special finance grants is under progressthe work began on january 15 five months later not even half the work is completeahmed fakruddin proprietor of a hotel near bendore which had customers coming in droves is almost out of business he says the corporation officials promised they would complete it as soon as possible but its been a never ending waitfakruddin says the concrete channel work for underground utilities is half complete and the contractor said there were no funds to proceed with the workwhen the mayor shankar bhat was contacted he said the work was held up as mescom was dillydallying to shift the underground cable and were insisting that they do it the cost of cable and the shifting is estimated at rs 70 lakh which the corporation cannot afford he said bhat said negotiations are on with mescom to shift the cable by them making a case that the corporation had given them land at throwaway prices to set up five sub stations in the city it will be done within a couple of days after which the work will proceed expeditiously he assuredbut mescom official say the contrary no agreement has been reached we mescom cannot do it as there is no provision if they corporation pay well do it we have already submitted the estimates to the corporation the official said the cable is 33 kv underground cable feeding kankanady master unit sub station muss from kulshekar and is a kilometer in lengthan assistant engineer who is overseeing the concrete work pointed out that delay in procuring the paver machine for concrete work was another reason for the mess the machine costing rs 1 crore was recently purchased incidentally its the only machine to undertake such works in the city and many areas in the city are being concreted simultaneously the machine can pave 250 mts up to a width of 35 mts in a day hence the work should get over quickly he said also hampering the progress is delay in securing permission from the forest department to fell trees sources said this is the result of shoddy planning as the corporation in its wisdom jumped into concretization mode before the ground work was completed but engineers are hopeful that the work on bendore road should be completed by may end by which time schools will be ready for opening though engineers are hopeful the public are sceptical and not without reason two culverts on that road will require at least a month for curing