LAHORE: The 319-member district assembly held its first, and brief, meeting on Monday at the Aiwan-i-Iqbal because the Town Hall did not have space to accommodate the entire strength of the House.

The house met for less than an hour because lord mayor retired Col Mubasher Javed had been summoned by the chief minister for a meeting and the proceedings of the House were restricted to short formal speech by him and self-introduction of his deputies.

Unfolding his priorities, the lord mayor said though the Local Bodies Act of 2013 clearly stated the role of local councils, his main preferences remained cleaning the city white, setting its sewerage system right and illuminating the streets bright.

He also vowed to remove encroachments for the smooth flow of messy traffic. All these areas form priority of the new set-up and every care would be taken to perform it at the earliest and then sustain the level of work.

“The prime minister, the chief minster and MNA Hamza Shahbaz have guided us through a long electoral process to reach where we are today,” the lord mayor said and added: “Their vision is our guidance and we will remain committed to it. It is time to pay back to people for their voting favour and this team is committed to the core to return this favour through hard work and making the city as beautiful as possible during their stint in the office.”

About half a dozen opposition members, who made to the House, were completely ignored when it came to speeches.

Since they were not given the time, they left in disgust – questioning democratic credentials of the House. Some of the official members agreed with them; they should have been given time, however, short, to make speeches. Since everyone was told to keep their speech short, the opposition was the major victim.

Published in Dawn January 3rd, 2017