A CORRESPONDENT
SILCHAR: A new chapter in urban governance began in Silchar on Thursday as advocate Amarendra Paul was sworn in as the first Mayor of the Silchar Municipal Corporation (SMC), while Bijendra Prasad Singh took the oath as the Deputy Mayor. The ceremony, held at Rajiv Bhawan, was marked by celebrations as all 42 newly elected councillors also assumed office.Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma and BJP state President Dilip Saikia joined the newly elected BJP councillors virtually from Guwahati to announce the names of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. The oath of office was administered by P Jeeban, Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department. The event was attended by Urban Development Minister Kaushik Rai, Barak Valley Development Department and District Guardian Minister Krishnendu Paul, Silchar MLA, former MLAs, Members of Parliament, Rajya Sabha MPs, MLAs from Hailakandi and Dholai, the SMC Commissioner, senior administrative officials, political leaders, and prominent citizens.
Addressing the gathering after taking the oath, Mayor Amarendra Paul and Deputy Mayor Bijendra Prasad Singh pledged to provide a transparent, corruption-free, and citizen-centric administration. They said that their priorities would include improving road infrastructure, ensuring a reliable drinking water supply, maintaining cleanliness, upgrading civic amenities, and resolving Silchar's long-standing traffic congestion issues.
Also Read: Assam Government's Plan to Reopen Sawmills Sparks Environmental Concerns