New chairperson takes charge of Dibrugarh civic body

DIBRUGARH: BJP ward commissioner Soma Chakraborty was sworn in as the new chairperson of Dibrugarh Municipal Board (DMB) on Monday, ending the crisis in one of the oldest civic bodies of the state.
An internal rebellion by BJP ward commissioners resulted in the ouster of former DMB chairperson Anuradha Dey on April 18, necessitating a change of guard.Dey, the first BJP chairperson to head the DMB, was removed from her post at a specially convened meeting under Section 28 of the Assam Municipal Act, 1956.
She headed the civic body for the last two years after her appointment as chairperson on April 5, 2015 following a sweep by the saffron party in the municipal body election. BJP bagged 16 of the 22 seats and went to led the civic body for the first time. Congress, on the other hand, managed to win only five seats while one seat went to an Independent candidate.
On Monday, Chakraborty was administered the oath of office by acting chairperson Jugananda Sensuwa in the presence of Dibrugarh MP Rameshwar Teli, Lahowal MLA Rituparna Baruah and other ward commissioners. After the swearing-in, she promised to solve the solid waste disposal problem of the town and clear the pending wages of sanitation workers on a priority basis. "Dibrugarh has a rich history and our municipal board is 143 years old. We will devote ourselves to convert the town into one of the most beautiful and cleanest urban centres of Assam," she said. A lawyer by profession, Chakraborty had won from ward number eight in 2015.