Ravi Dhaliwal
Pathankot, July 13
With the Pathankot Municipal Corporation (MC) General House not meeting for the past seven months, developmental works in the city have come to a standstill. This has led to resentment among residents. Councillors hold political incongruity of the city as the villain of the peace.
Mayor Panna Lal Bhatia belongs to the Congress while sitting MLA Ashwani Sharma is a BJP man. To further complicate the situation, the AAP has appointed its losing candidate Vibhuti Sharma as the halqa in-charge (caretaker). Councillors claim this absurdity is leading to a rot in the system where the MC has been reduced to a mockery of itself.
All these three players are rarely on the same page. The sufferer is the common man, who has to walk on city’s muddied streets where sighting a working streetlight is indeed a rarity. The Mayor, fearing a backlash over his performance from opposition and even his own party councillors, has been steadfastly refusing to convene the General House. According to the norms, it is mandatory for the House to hold a meeting at least once a month.
“Desilting of drains has yet to commence even as the monsoon is in full swing. A majority of streetlights are dysfunctional. The sewerage system is overwhelmed to the brink. At places, drains are choked to the extent where residents are thinking of leaving their homes to spend the rainy season with relatives,” says councillor Nitin Laddi Mahajan.
“The main reason for the Mayor’s reluctance to convene the House is that he will have to face the wrath of the councillors,” said Ward No. 37 councillor Neelam Saini.
A similar situation was witnessed from 2017 till 2020 when the Mayor Anil Vasudeva belonged to the BJP while Amit Vij of the Congress was the sitting legislator. Garbage and filth are a common sight. The super sucker machine is there to clean the city, but the problem is that it is overworked. Councillors say if they put in a request today, it will take a month for the machine to come to their ward.
Parties not on same page
Mayor Panna Lal Bhatia belongs to the Congress while sitting MLA Ashwani Sharma is a BJP man. To further complicate the situation, AAP has appointed its losing candidate Vibhuti Sharma as the halqa in-charge (caretaker).
No Pathankot MC House meeting in 7 months
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