Agra’s 3rd woman mayor takes oath
AGRA : Hemlata Diwakar took oath as third woman mayor of Agra at a programme organised at Sur Sadan Auditorium, Agra, on Saturday. One hundred corporators also took oath on the occasion and the police had a tough time handling the huge turnout of supporters of elected corporators. Before Diwakar, a former MLA from Agra Rural, Baby Rani Maurya, now minister in state cabinet, and Anjula Mahour, currently MLA from Hathras, were mayors of Agra. They were all from BJP which had not lost mayoral election since 1989. District magistrate of Agra, Navneet Chahal, swore in the new mayor and the outgoing mayor, Naveen Jain, symbolically handed over charge to the new mayor. Slogans of Jai Sri Ram, Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata Ki Jai were raised by many corporators. A cultural programme was organised and Mayur Dance (a form of folk dance in Braj area) was performed. Urban development and energy minister in UP cabinet, AK Sharma, who was the chief guest on the occasion, congratulated the new mayor and 100 elected corporators.
“The BJP has never lost a mayoral election in Agra and this time too 58 corporators from BJP have won. BJP had a triple engine government in
Agra and performed very well, and thus, voters in Agra exhibited confidence in BJP this time too. Agra earned plaudits for hosting the visit of G 20 representatives perfectly, thus raising the pride of Uttar Pradesh,” Sharma said.
“The civic amenities need to match the status of the iconic monument Taj Mahal which attracts millions of visitors every year. Being the seat of the Taj Mahal and near the national capital, Agra remains in focus, and this adds to the responsibility of Agra Nagar Nigam to keep the city beautiful” Sharma said.
“It is a matter of pride for me to be elected as mayor of this historic city. I will ask the corporators to raise public issues and maintain priority for development. Ongoing projects will be completed as a priority and I will make Agra Nagar Nigam number one statewide,” the new mayor said.