Smart City, the glamour for (II)

S Kunjabihari Singh *

Traffic Circus :: Pix - TSE

Any Smart City project should essentially take care of certain basic features incorporated; these maybe not all-inclusive but at the same time incorporate certain levels of features.

Two or three Smart City proposals of these two or three cities need not have similar components; in effect they should differ in terms of the essential smart solutions depending on the veracity of the same two or three cities, considering such criteria specific to the location, already available features and the more popular aspirations of the citizens.

The GOI specifically mentions 7 smart typical features to choose from in the preparation of idealistic set of features.

Creating Walk able Localities is ideally one feature all the people of the state not necessarily the native citizens of the city long for.

People in the state be they from the hills or the far off villages and not only the city dwellers enjoy such facilities and amenities. They expect places with reduces congestion or air pollution.

The road network is suitable not only for the vehicles and public transport but should be pedestrian and cyclists-friendly.

Urban Transport has been one of the most abused sectors in our state. In fact there is no such urban public transport. The consequences are horrible; greatly add to distorting eco-balance.

The citizens have to oft for personal transport where they can afford and for the others they have to go for the diesel autos which are suffocating the atmosphere.

In a city barren of greeneries, open spaces, water bodies, these diesel operated autos in their thousands play havoc to the atmosphere. Serious discussion on plausible alternatives should be accorded top priority.

The few low-floor buses made available by the GOI for use in Imphal city public transport under the national program of JnNURAM could not be beneficially used in Imphal.

Two or three attempted in areas of Imphal resulted to utter failures and had to be withdrawn. One popular factor could be the excessive presence of autos and the more than easy availability of the same for the public.

Could their number be scaled down or the more luxurious buses could be more public-friendly are areas of serious consideration. In Guwahati these same buses are extensively used and in fact have become increasingly more popular.

Improved governance is one area where lot more improvement can be thought of. The saying goes that good governance does not cost; the essential cost is already inbuilt, only tightening the belt is called for.

In a smart city, making governance citizen-friendly and cost effective is considered sine-qua-non, as the citizens increasingly rely on online services to bring about accountability and transparency.

They talk about forming e-groups to listen people and obtain feedback and use online monitoring of programs and government activities with the aid of cyber-tour of worksites.

Open spaces—the parks, the recreational spaces, the play grounds, water areas enhance quality of life of citizens. These not only create space for a decent city life but help in promoting eco-balance by reducing urban heat effects in and around the city.

Lakes or rivers where these exist need to be preserved, protected and in effect cultured. Where these are not other sources like ponds and such water bodies need be restored.