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SMART CITY? YESSSSS ! Smart people? Well. . .

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Our beloved Belagavi has been declared a Smart City long ago and Projects/developments are on, to make it a Smart City – a joy indeed for all Belgaumites. Let us go a little deeper into the ground reality, to see what /whether the really changes are noticeable.
A new office for the Smart city has been opened where sometimes no exists but the peon.
Decorative, colourful (probably imported) street lights have been installed (at whatever the cost) on Khanapur Road and other ‘ Select ‘ roads. A few other ‘ Select ‘ roads in ‘ Select ‘ areas have been upgraded and/or decorative makeover done. (this may not be part of the Smart city project but many claim now it to be part of).
Bridges constructed /getting constructed/ widened (at debatable speed)
Haphazard demolition has been done in the name of creating parking areas and clearing basements for parking.

belagavi-smart-city
Smart City Office in Belagavi

These are a few changes that suddenly come to mind. Some of us may feel enough is being done while some others may feel this is hardly anything. As always, there are two sides to everything and to this issue too.

A few offices set up /upgraded – Does that ensure/enhance our well being /productivity /efficiency /smartness ??

Are decorative street lights/construction/ widening of bridges and roads in a few ‘ Select ‘ areas enough to make our city smart ??

belagavi-lights-goavavesWhat about Traffic management on these roads/bridges and what about the maintenance of these lights and safety on our roads ??

What has happened to the traffic signal posts at Basveshwar Circle, Gogte Circle, Dharmveer Sambhaji Circle etc ?? What of the traffic management at the three railway gates ??
Road widening was under taken on a few roads now they are just parking lots with some yet to get good roads and gutters.

traffic gogte
All of a sudden the Basement clearing happens on one day and the action is stopped the next day. Nothing happens further.
Are our roads clean…?
What of the 24 hours water supply project ? Does the administration know what happens in many of the Municipal Parks after ‘morning walk ‘ hours ?
The administration is lax and authorities are not looking into the core issues. Our Elected Representatives ‘ from GALLI to DELHI don’t care.
These statements are obviously debatable.
My question is, what are WE, as BELGAUMITES doing ?

traffic-centre belagaviBelagavi belongs to us as much to us as them, if not more. What are WE doing to make Belagavi a Smart City ?
Merely pointing fingers; blaming the administration; Is that going to help us ??

Have we developed a sense of cleanliness ? Have we stopped spitting and throwing litter on the roads ? Wrappers, discarded plastic material, sanitary pads, anything and everything is being freely thrown on the roads. Is that the fault of the administration ??

ducthgarbageWe drive and park with open disregard for road rules and traffic sense. We pride ourselves in letting our under age children drive two/four wheelers obviously without license. Is that the fault of the Police ?
Then, in case of unfortunate accidents that keep happening so very often, we suddenly become aware of lack of proper roads, improper traffic management etc. We are shameless enough to flirt with the rules and then pay a bribe if/when we are caught. Why do we do this…WHY ?

We don’t carry bag from home, when we go to the market. We ask the retailer for a plastic /carry bag and face the ignominy of getting a NO from the retailer. Who is responsible? We or the administration ?
We consume bottled water and throw the empty water bottle in the nearest corner. On top of this, we seriously debate on the plastic menace. Who is responsible. We or the administration ?

During our religious and cultural processions, we are in ‘ high spirits. ‘ Gutkha, liquor and dances with pervert body movements have become an integral part of our processions. Religious or otherwise. The songs that are played in religious and cultural processions are so meaningless and dirty, that we cannot even dream of hearing the same songs in the privacy of our houses. Is this our traditional way of life? Is this the culture of our beloved Belagavi? Is this our “ASMITAA” ??

barri-removd
These again, are just a few examples. I absolutely do not mean to say that our administration is very efficient and our administrators are incarnations of God.
The administration and administrators must be answerable to themselves, to their voters and to their authorities.
What I wish to most humbly say is, let us all do our bit, contribute our mite and then take the administration/administrators to task. Let us contribute our two cents to keep our city clean and to make it a really, really SMART CITY.

Belagavi is ours, unless we get smart, our Belagavi cannot become smart.

10 thoughts on “SMART CITY? YESSSSS ! Smart people? Well. . .”

  1. Just colourful illumination of few roads is the least of the SCP. A deeper insight into the ground reality is like : “Uper se sherwani, andar se pareshani.”

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  2. Mr Editor, Do you have the original plan of the New Bridge at Gogte Circle, if yes then please publish it…

    Citizens have the right to inspect.

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  3. Efforts to make BELAGAVI a true smart city start from us. Traffic discipline, breaking traffic rules,throwing of garbage,using plastic bags are the order of the day. Driving on No Entry roads at 1st and 2nd gates during early morning and after 9 pm, at RPD cross,Shukrawar Peth is routine. We don’t need Policeman to control…self control is needed. Till these are not followed Smart City is a Dream..

    Reply
  4. If we don’t have jobs in the city then what is use of becoming the city ‘Smart’. The roads and lights must have been actually done long way back. These are the most basic facilities for any city(when we call certain place ‘a city’).No wonder if they are doing it now.
    Other major problem is electricity, whenever I go to Belgaum I face the load shedding prob during any time of the year.is our so big that it is very hard to manage electricity problems? We don’t face such issues in cities like Pune/Mumbai even if these are huge cities with huge crowd.
    we do’t even have proper dams for sustainable water supply or to cater needs of huge crowd if jobs created and other people accommodated in the city.
    The list goes on……

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  5. no body cares for developing extn.areas like R.C.Nagar 1st stage.dont know when it looks smart.30 yrs old layout.Double rd.near r.c.n ind.area was good but this 100 ft.rd.has become 60ft by encroachments like bldg.constn..jain college has put pavers cutting short regular adphalted rd.some one should inspect..at least team AAB

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  6. It is very unbecoming of a supervisor of Smart city concerned to Ashok Nagar Belagavi who is looking after the
    the work .When approached for setting right of or repair of water pippeline and blocked drainage line damaged due to JCT his reply is ” HE is not responsible”. If this is not redressed within 8/4/2019.The complaint will be forawarded to PMO office. This is for your kind information.

    Reply

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