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RMC deputy CEO Gopal Ji, CEO Dipankar Panda, mayor Rama Khalkho and deputy mayor Ajay Nath Shahdeo at the meeting in Ranchi on Monday. Picture by Hardeep Singh
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Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) councillors on Monday had a trying time in reconciling themselves to the Shakespearean adage “What's in a name?”
At a crucial board meeting, councillors hotly debated for over three hours whether a foundation stone laid at a check dam on the Subernarekha, near the burning ghat at Sithio in Dhurwa, should bear the name of the local ward councillor or the names of as many as five councillors of adjoining wards.
The issue escalated late Sunday afternoon after four women councillors — Manju Verma (Ward 39), Pushpa Devi (Ward 41), Kiran Devi (Ward 42) and Urmila Yadav (Ward 44) assembled at the burning ghat at Sithio and uprooted the foundation stone that bore the name of Krishna Mohan Singh, councillor of Ward 40.
The women councillors later installed a new foundation stone, with their names etched on the stone.
The matter was on Monday taken up at the board meeting. For over three hours, councillors debated on the issue. At the end, a vote was called for in which councillors unanimously recommended that the foundation stone should bear the names of mayor Rama Khalkho, deputy mayor Ajay Nath Shahdeo and Krishna Mohan Singh, councillor of Ward 40.
“Since 2008, I had been fighting for the construction of a check dam at Sithio across the Subernarekha. Though a burning ghat stood at the site, people had a trying time in performing the last rites as the river ran dry for most parts of the year,” Krishna Mohan Singh told The Telegraph.
In 2011, the proposal was sanctioned at a cost of Rs 24 lakh. Construction was completed in 2012 and in July last year, the check dam was officially inaugurated. “Since I was instrumental in constructing the check dam, how can the foundation stone contain names of councillors of all adjoining wards?” Singh quizzed.
With the name issue taking up more than three hours, the RMC board rushed through to extend the contract of Sulabh International, entrusted with the task of maintaining night shelters at Ranchi, by another year.
The board directed the electrical wing to ensure that high mast lights installed at major intersections were maintained.
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