Roads, waterlogging and community halls rank high up on the priority list of several young and new councilors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, mirroring the lack of basic civic amenities in several pockets of the city.

Modern urban issues — like lack of sufficient spaces for the differently-abled, a long-term solution to improve air quality and the rights of the LGBTQ community — were important, they said.

But more important is to prevent water from invading homes after every downpour and ensure people living in slums have access to basic healthcare.

“My ward lacks a community hall. The slums need uplift. Before making lofty promises, I want to focus on ensuring that the basic amenities reach everyone,” said Trinamul’s Puja Panja, who won from Ward 8.

“The delivery of the government’s welfare schemes to every deserving recipient is equally important,” said Puja, the daughter of state minister Shashi Panja and a law graduate from Calcutta University with a postgraduate degree in social welfare.

Ayan Chakraborty, another first-time Trinamul councillor who won from Ward 28, said the problems faced by the differently-abled and the mesh of overhead cables and unregulated billboards bothered him. But he asserted that health and education would be his “top priorities”.

“Thousands of students come to schools run by the civic body. They are poor but they are entitled to quality education, including access to modern technology. The primary health care centres should be able to provide primary health care,” said Chakraborty, a 42-year-old advocate.

Trinamul, which swept the civic polls bagging 134 of the 144 wards, had fielded many fresh faces, most of them from families of senior party leaders.

Trinamul’s Amit Singh, son of the former mayoral council member Tarak Singh and winner from Ward 117, wants to focus on roads and waterlogging.

“One repair after another is raising the height of the roads. That in turn floods houses. In my ward, I have focussed on changing this,” said Singh, who had won the ward in a by-election in 2018.

“When Jyotish Roy Road was repaired, I made sure that the old layers were removed first,” said the 44-year-old, who has a management degree in marketing and sales and had a stint with a private manufacturer taking the political plunge.

Trinamul’s Sandipan Saha, second-time winner from Ward 58 and son of party leader Swarnakamal Saha, has in the past been an active part of Bengal’s e-governance initiatives.

Saha, who has a management degree in marketing from IIM Calcutta, wants to work towards “online delivery of every certificate” issued by the civic body.

“People still have to stand in long queues for these certificates. I want these to be accessible at the click of a button,” said Saha, who has worked in IT companies in India and abroad before joining public life.

He said the discrimination faced by the LGBTQ community was a “very important issue that needs long-term planning”.

“Sops like added Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for environment-friendly constructions are very much part of our plan,” he said.

Saurav Basu, who won Ward 86 for Trinamul and is the son of minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, said he would focus on taking care of senior citizens.

“I have digital access to each voter in my ward. I am planning to reach out to every senior citizen and encourage them to give feedback on our work at regular intervals,” said Basu, a commerce graduate from St Xavier’s College who did an MBA in marketing.