Every morning at 7 a.m., Kolhapur Municipal Corporation's (KMC) Deputy Mayor, Sanjay Mohite, leaves his house and hops onto his bicycle to start a brisk round of the tiny Sykes Extension Ward, in this erstwhile royal town in western Maharashtra.
Mohite has had this lifestyle for the last five years to serve his 6,000-plus constituents.?
The 60-year-old roams around on his bicycle to approach citizens and enquire about their concerns.?
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In conversation with IANS, he talks about how he was informed about a roadside drain. He said,?"I immediately call up the concerned persons in the KMC, wait till they sent a team and ensure the work is completed as soon as possible. Occasionally, it can even take more time, so I follow it up regularly till the matter is resolved."
He added, "I am inspired by Mahatma Gandhi to take up such a 'mass-contact' form of public service... Gandhiji used to live and work among the masses and could gauge the pulse of the people. The problems may be small, but people expect immediate redressal from the elected representatives, and it's their right in a democracy."
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He is known as the 'Cycle Samaritan' and reportedly catches up with at least two dozen people daily.?
He also said that the entire ward knows him personally. He said,?"You ask any other elected representatives like ministers, legislators, parliamentarians or corporators from any political party, they will acknowledge my services to the people,"
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"He not only understands the peoples' issues thoroughly, but also takes them up as a 'personal challenge' to resolve them with the endeavor to make his ward the best place for all his constituents," said P.M. Joshi, a Kolhapur resident.
Though Mohite believes in the power of technology and modern communication modes, he feels nothing can beat 'personal contact' of leaders with their constituents, not even adopting the current social media fads.