Panchkula to get its new mayor, councillors on Thursday

Times News NetworkPanchkula: Panchkula is set to get its new civic leadership on Thursday as newly elected Mayor Sham Lal Bansal along with 20 councillors will take oath at a ceremony to be held in Indradhanush Auditorium.Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and BJP state president Mohan Lal Badoli are scheduled to attend the oath-taking ceremony and extend their support to the newly elected representatives.Bansal will take oath as the third Mayor of Panchkula municipal corporation. Before him, Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia and Kulbhushan Goyal had served as mayors of the civic body. Prior to the formation of the municipal corporation, Panchkula functioned under a municipal council system headed by a council president. The first municipal corporation elections in Panchkula were held in 2013.A senior BJP leader and long-time party worker, Bansal has remained actively associated with the organisation for several years. Though he contested Assembly elections three times earlier without success, he registered a massive victory in the recent mayoral polls by defeating his rival with a margin of nearly 37,000 votes.Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, he said his priority would be to resolve public issues and accelerate the development of Panchkula city. He assured residents that every effort would be made to improve civic infrastructure and strengthen municipal services across all sectors and wards of the city.Focus on Removing Encroachments and Beautifying the City: BansalThe drains running through the city are soon to undergo beautification, and work has already commenced on a plan to transform them into picturesque lakes.This information was shared by Bansal during an event organised in Sector 12.Bansal stated that he has already held discussions with CM Saini. He added that the Panchkula Metropolitan Development Authority (PMDA) and the Municipal Corporation of Panchkula will jointly undertake the cleaning of the city’s drains. Trees will be planted around the drains, and consultations with officials are currently underway regarding a plan to transform them into attractive lakes using clean water.