Mayor Dialogue event organized by Dehradun Citizens Forum, Mayoral Candidates present their Roadmap of Dehradun
SUNIL NEGI
Dehradun: The municipal elections in the state are currently in full swing. In all 11 municipal corporations of the state, the ruling party BJP, along with opposition parties like Congress, other political parties, and independent candidates, are all actively participating in this electoral battle.
Among the most closely contested seats in the state is that of the Mayor of Dehradun, the capital city, which has become the center of attention. In this election, candidates from BJP, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, along with ten independent candidates, are all in the fray.
In this context, the Dehradun Citizens Forum organized a “Mayor Dialogue” event on the theme of “Green Agenda” at the Uttaranchal Press Club in Dehradun, with a large number of citizens from various sections of the city participating. The speaking sequence for the mayor candidates was selected through a lottery system. All participants appreciated this first-of-its-kind event in Dehradun. Each mayoral candidate was allotted a fixed time of 12 minutes to present their views.
During the event, all the mayoral candidates shared their respective visions and highlighted that their primary goal if elected would be to preserve Dehradun’s greenery. Additionally, they emphasized the need to prioritize traffic and parking arrangements and the rejuvenation of rivers that have been turned into drains. All the candidates seemed to be in agreement with the key issues raised by the Dehradun Citizens Forum.
The dialogue began with Congress party candidate Virendra Pokhriyal, who presented his plan to plant 1 million trees in the city over the next five years. He also addressed the problem of polythene and suggested stopping its use at the source, within factories, and pledged to work on the ground level in the wards after winning the election.
The second speaker, Aam Aadmi Party candidate Ravindra Anand Singh, focused his address on setting up 5 lakh CCTV cameras and creating parking facilities for 10,000 vehicles in Dehradun over the next five years. He also proposed working for the welfare of the transgender community and integrating them into the mainstream of society.
Following the lottery, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal candidate Captain Birendra Singh Bist outlined his plan to form an eco-task force, curb the polythene problem within city limits, and learn from Indore’s waste management model. He also advocated for a stronger land law.
Finally, BJP candidate Saurabh Thapliyal reiterated his party’s manifesto, proposing the construction of community halls, cycle tracks, and walking paths. During the discussion, the public raised several important questions regarding slum areas, the upcoming hearing of the National Green Tribunal, the growing drug problem, and the deteriorating water quality of rivers like the Rispana.
The event was initiated by Jagmohan Mehdiratta and Bharti Jain from the Dehradun Citizens Forum, while information on the Forum’s Green Agenda was presented by Anoop Nautiyal and Florence Pandhi. The framework of the Mayor Dialogue was shared by Retu Chatterjee and Anish Lall.
Independent candidate Vijay Bhattrai also expressed his views during the Mayor Dialogue program.
The event was attended by Dehradun Citizens Forum members Sudhir Vadhera, Ashish Garg, Kusum Kohli, Asha Rani Kapoor, Anup Badola, Nitin Shah, Ramanna, Dr. Vimal Nautiyal, Lokesh Ohri, Sunil Nehru, Ranbir Chaudhary, Anil Jaggi, Abhishek Bhatt, Rajeev Thakur, and Kamal Devrari. Social activists Ravi Chopra, Nirmala Bist, Jaydeep Saklani, Pradeep Kukreti, Tanmai Mamgain, Himanshu Arora, Himanshu Ahuja, and several other members of various organizations, along with many citizens of Dehradun were present during the Mayor Dialogue.
