Raipur (Chhattisgarh): The 51st meeting of the All India Mayors Council held in Raipur concluded on Sunday. Chhattisgarh Governor Anusuiya Uikey was the chief guest at the closing ceremony while the program was presided over by Raipur MP Sunil Soni.
Addressing the closing ceremony of the program, Governor Uikey said that it is a matter of pride for Chhattisgarh that the mayors of the whole country have come to Raipur. Sharing her experience, the Governor said: "When a person gets the responsibility and position, the expectations of the people increase. You all should listen to people by understanding their feelings. When we reach responsible positions, many times our phone goes off. Or we do not pick up the calls of the people. However, you should try and always be reachable to people."
Uikey said that all the mayors should listen to the problems of the people. "While listening to their words, maintain good behaviour with them. Don't run after the position. If you will fulfill your responsibility well, you will achieve higher positions as MLA, Minister, MP and later," she said.
The governor said that she broke the tradition of Raj Bhavan which, according to her, till now allowed access to only limited people. "I converted my Raj Bhavan into Jan Bhavan. Every day, I try to listen to and understand the problems of all citizens. My job is not to stay in the building and rest. People sitting in every responsible position should adopt this spirit and behaviour," she said.
Raipur MP Sunil Soni, who was presiding over the program, said that if there is an accountable government after the centre and the state, it is the local government. "Development should be done on the basis of public-private partnership in the city. In 2006, I had decided that there should be a traffic signal in the capital, people asked me whether people would stop at the traffic signal. But on the basis of Public Private Partnership, signals were installed in Raipur. The agencies that had installed the signals also earned money through advertisements in the signals," he said.
National President of All India Mayor's Council, Naveen Jain said that many important topics were discussed in the 51st Mayors Council meeting.
