Palghar: Chetan Patil, 34, the sarpanch of Manor believes in leading by example and doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty in the process. Chetan Patil an educated and directly elected sarpanch did not shy away from his duties in keeping his village clean. He drove a garbage collection truck for an entire day when both the designated drivers were not available. His commitment has made him the talk of the town.
The garbage collection staff of Manor Gram Panchayat could not carry out their duties as the garbage truck drivers did not arrive for collection. Patil looked into the matter and found that out of the two drivers employed to drive the vehicle around, one was on leave, while the other was absent due to medical emergency. When he tried to get a replacement and couldn't find one, he did not hesitate to get behind the wheels.
Palghar: Manor Sarpanch does not mind getting his hands dirty | FPJ
Palghar: Manor Sarpanch does not mind getting his hands dirty | FPJ
Palghar: Manor Sarpanch does not mind getting his hands dirty | FPJ
Getting in the driver's seat
He drove the vehicle through the day on May 24 to help his support staff clear garbage. He made several trips to collect garbage and dump it into a pit. Patil's efforts to maintain cleanliness in the village and his leadership were lauded by the villagers.
Manor ex-UpSarpanch and Grampanchat Member and social activist, Sajid Khatib praised Patil’s initiative in civic issues and said, “This tribal youth has shown a new path to elected representatives.”
“The sarpanch has shown courage in driving a garbage vehicle with a foul odour. We will felicitate him,” said Sunil Lokhande, ex-chairman, General Education Society and social worker
Elected as Sarpanch with comfortable margin
Patil, a tribal, pursued diploma in engineering but could not appear for the exams due to health issues. He started dabbling in real estate. In October 2022, he won with 1,420 votes which is considered a comfortable margin in Grampanchayat elections contesting against BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena candidates.
He took charge as Sarpanch on Oct 14, 2022.
Patil has set a trend for other elected representatives of local self-governments. Although the civic administration is responsible for such routine work, he has shown that active participation of the elected representatives with the executives help solve ground-level problems with less effort.
