Mayor commends councillors for working unitedly for city

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 24

Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu commended all councillors for working together for the betterment of the city, irrespective of their political affiliations, during the last General House meeting of the MC’s sixth (current) house on Friday. The tenure of the MC House is scheduled to end on March 25.

In the meeting, Sandhu also praised ‘Safai Sainiks’ (safai karamcharis and sewer men) for their important role in keeping the city clean, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Mayor urged residents to support the authorities in maintaining cleanliness and greenery of the city by avoiding the use of banned plastic carry bags and single-use plastic items that negatively impact the environment and human health.

During the meeting, Shiromani Akali Dal Councillor Harbhajan Singh Dang raised concerns about stalled projects approved under the councillor quota works. He urged that the projects should begin soon and be inaugurated in the presence of the councillors concerned.

Jaspal Singh Giaspura, leader of the Opposition in the MC House, pointed out that the civic body’s financial condition was poor as payments of approximately Rs 150 crore to contractors for various development works were still pending. He also requested that the AAP government should release funds to the civic body at the earliest.

Councillors and Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Gogi praised the Mayor for working beyond party lines to enhance the city’s infrastructure. While addressing, Gogi assured the councillors that they would work together and the government would soon release Rs 200-250 crore funds.

The meeting was also attended by MLAs Madan Lal Bagga, Ashok Prashar Pappi, Rajinderpal Kaur Chhina, Kulwant Singh Sidhu, Senior Deputy Mayor Sham Sunder Malhotra, Deputy Mayor Sarabjit Kaur Shimlapuri, among others. Leaders of different parties offered sweets to the Mayor after the meeting as the MC House would complete its tenure on Saturday (March 25).