'Pending work a priority': 12 Gen Z corporators want to hit the ground running in Mumbai

MUMBAI: With as many as 12 newly elected BMC corporators belonging to Gen Z—aged under 30—the new House is set to get a youthful boost. While it also has a sprinkling of elderly corporators, its largest cohort is middle-aged.

The youngest corporator is Kashish Fulwaria, elected from Ward 151. She is the daughter of former corporator Rajesh Fulwaria, who represented the ward from 2017 to 2022. "I have seen how my father, who has been in politics for over 20 years, worked and my priority will be to complete all pending works which have not been paid attention to for the past three years," said Kashish, a BMS graduate and currently pursuing an MBA.

"There are some basic things concerning civic amenities that a nagarsevak should address."

A child of two former corporators, Disha Yadav, a jewellery designer who runs a startup, has been elected from Ward 80. Yadav said she knows how work on the ground must be carried out, as she has observed her parents, adding she will learn about the civic administration in due course. "My father, Sunil Yadav, who represented this ward, passed away during Covid.

I would like to see upgrades and modernisation of civic services, besides beautification, and will work towards that," she said.Dr Saman Azmi, a homeopath who has been elected from Ward 167, chose to follow in the footsteps of her uncle, seasoned corporator Ashraf Azmi and father Ashrad Azmi, a Congress office bearer. Azmi said she studied polity while preparing for civil services exams. "I intend to improve existing hospitals and strive for another civic hospital in Kurla," said Azmi, who has worked as an RMO during the pandemic.Endodontist Dr Aditi Khursange from Ward 11 said she always wanted to get into public service. "Educated people should come into the system to change it. Besides, young people come with fresh ideas and some complicated problems have simple solutions." Khursange had worked at Aapla Davakhana. Haider Ali Shaikh from Ward 34 is son of MLA Aslam Shaikh. "I have been into social work for 8 years and have been working with BMC departments such as SWD and SWM and kind of know how the system functions. When I expressed interest, my dad asked me to go through the process of the party," said Shaikh, a BMS graduate.