If you do not know, there are six pillars to the elaborate “Smart Kashi” plan under the Smart City initiative by the Government of India. These include: Suramya (picturesque), Smmunat (improved), Nirmal (pure), Sanyojit (planned), Surakshit (safe) and Ekatrit (integrated).
The city Varanasi under the Smart City project has assured about the proper implementation of the strategic partnerships with leading companies like Philips, IBM, Uber, Schneider Electric, and Ericsson for the delivery of its vision. The vision of the “Smart Kashi” goes as “confluence of ancient tradition and modern innovation” towards the development of the Smart City of Varanasi.
A Bollywood movie named “Masan” had emphasized the development of the cremation sites of the city alongside the holy river Ganga. The city is proposing the electric crematoriums in its Smart City plan. To restore the traditional and ethnic glory of the ancient Kashi, there have been provisions made for “Divyang” and pedestrians friendly streets. There would be rejuvenated and renovated ghats and temples. In addition to this, there would also be a “Night Bazaar” at the “Assi Ghat”. This would be aimed at the promotion of the local handicrafts and the local cuisines along with light and sound shows along the sides of the River Ganga.
The provisions of a single access card for the integrated online payments for multiple means of transport have also been laid out. In addition to this, there is also the provision of the Varanasi metro under the Smart Kashi project. There would also be upgrades made in the utilities and entry fees to the heritage sites in the city. All the popular sites of historic importance will receive digital signage along with interactive panels and interactive maps. The ambitious Smart City plan would also involve traffic sensors, public bicycle sharing system and even smart street lights with panic buttons and LED lighting to brighten the overall city.
There would be assured water supply to all the citizens of the city, green rooftops on all the government and school buildings, elderly and women helpline services 24/7, rejuvenation of the holy water bodies, and a separate women police station as well in the proposal of the Smart Varanasi city. There have been suggestions made for the introduction of new smart technologies also to enhance the services of the e-rickshaw drivers and the local boatmen. The city has also consulted several domain experts from the IIT, Government of United Kingdom, Department for International Development, and BHU for implementation of the “Smart Kashi” plan.
As per the SWOT analysis conducted by the experts over the initial plans of Varanasi, the old school profile and the traditional norms that are prevalent in the city are too difficult to adopt the smart changes in the city. Therefore, the Smart Kashi plan of the Smart Varanasi City by the Government of India needs to be implemented with much thought process and introspection. This also calls for the active participation of the local authorities as well as the citizens of the city to upgrade the living conditions of the Holy city of Varanasi