Be gentle, polite and do not hurt others while airing views at the council meeting. This was the piece of advice given by the Vellore Mayor P Karthiyayini to the councillors, who were taking part at the meeting, which began on Monday.
She was intervening when a duel between a group of DMK and AIADMK councillors, over allocation of funds to various wards had stalled the proceedings of the meeting. However, Mayor Karthiyayini’s call to maintain the decorum of the meeting fell on deaf ears. After a brief period, the proceedings returned to normalcy.
“Please do not use harsh words while representing the issues or countering others,” she pleaded. She pointed out that the entire council was elected by the people and all elected members were accountable to the general public. She wanted the council members to decide on how to deal with the harsh behaviour of the members. She also announced that all the arguments between the councillors in this regard would be expunged from the proceedings of the meeting.
Most of the councillors highlighted the water woes of the city and expressed fears of water scarcity during summer. They wanted the corporation to make immediate alternative arrangements to supply water through trucks to all parts of the city. They also complained of the malfunctioning of street lights, road works, digging the earth for cable work by telephone operators and mosquito and stray dog menace.
To some of the issues raised by the councillors, the mayor advised them to discuss them at the respective zonal meetings so that the corporation council could discuss more important ones. At the end of the meeting, as many as 36 resolutions were passed.