Civic elections: Dhanbad mayoral candidates launch campaigns with key priorities; Voter engagement to address pressing municipal challenges

Dhanbad: With the commencement of the municipal elections and the allotment of election symbols, campaigning picked up pace across the Dhanbad Municipal Corporation (DMC) area.

Mayoral candidates from diverse professional backgrounds began reaching out to voters, outlining their priorities and development agendas shaped largely by their work experience and business exposure.Engineer and educationist Ravi Chaudhary, owner of K K Group of Institutions, highlighted the acute drinking water crisis in the DMC region as his foremost concern. He said that although the city faced several civic issues, ensuring adequate and equitable water supply was his top priority.Chaudhary proposed a ward-level water tank system to improve distribution and ensure that every household received sufficient potable water.Restaurant entrepreneur and D3 owner Shantanu Chandra, also in the mayoral race, placed food safety and public health at the centre of his agenda. He said strict monitoring of food quality across the municipal area was his primary focus.Coal businessman Amit Agrawal underscored displacement and environmental degradation as major challenges in Dhanbad.

He pointed out that large parts of the city were fire-affected mining zones where people continued to live in unsafe conditions.While some families were displaced, many did not receive adequate compensation. Agrawal said resolving displacement issues, ensuring proper rehabilitation, and providing pollution-free housing were among his key priorities.Proprietor Prakash Kumar focused on governance and service delivery, alleging a mismatch between taxes collected by the municipal body and the facilities provided to citizens.Real estate developer Ravi Bundela emphasised infrastructure development, particularly roads and drainage. He said the poor condition of roads and lack of proper drains worsened traffic and civic problems.