Govt exploring possibilities to transform cities into more sustainable, modern ones: Lt Governor

Srinagar, Jul 10: In a yet another move to transform the Cities of J&K and making them more vibrant, citizen-friendly, and modern, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha Saturday e-inaugurated multiple projects of Srinagar Smart City including Variable Message Displays (VMDs) installed across the city, besides dedicating the new Surface Car Parking at Residency Road, Srinagar to the public.
The Lt Governor also launched the ‘mySrinagar’ Mobile App, which will be a one stop solution catering to the needs of citizens and tourists in Srinagar. The app integrates all available e-services offered by various departments, tourism related information in both offline and online mode and emergency helpline services at finger tips of users.
Speaking on the occasion, the Lt Governor underscored that the J&K Government, through its continuous endeavours is exploring all the possibilities to develop Jammu and Srinagar cities into world class modern, sustainable and vibrant cities.
“These new initiatives are in line with our mission of making cities sensitive to the needs of citizens and our vision of evolving them through the use of modern IT & other interventions, enabling seamless information access and better service delivery. We need to adopt meaningful ways and means to cater the ever-changing needs of citizens, to acknowledge the limits of available capacities, and strive dynamically to address the same”, asserted the Lt Governor.
The ‘mySrinagar’ app will work as a robust mechanism facilitating real-time information dissemination to the user, besides making information related to tourist attractions and destinations in Srinagar city available on single platform. More than 40 services from various line departments including 20 Srinagar Municipal Services are being offered through the app. It was also informed that the app supports the GIS-based grievance management.
The Lt Governor directed the officials to collaborate with the concerned departments and integrate services like Building permissions, Electricity, and Water connections with the ‘mySrinagar’ mobile application for ease of access by the people.
Emphasising on putting Variable Message Displays (VMDs) into use as a relevant and instant information dissemination tool, the Lt Governor instructed the concerned officials to display information regarding government programs, schemes, awareness campaigns; Information on traffic/congestion conditions, and alternate route diversions in case of high traffic; Real-time display of weather, temperature, air quality, etc.
He further suggested for preparing a comprehensive plan to develop VMDs as a source of generating additional revenue for Srinagar Smart City Limited.
He stressed upon maintaining proper inter-departmental coordination and asked the officers to get a better understanding of different facets of the prestigious project for effective implementation of various Smart City initiatives.
On the new Surface Car Parking at Residency Road, Srinagar, the Lt Governor observed that the new parking space will provide a solution to the traffic congestion problem in the busy city area.
The Chair was informed that the new parking space has been built on a total area of 16000 sq ft and can cater to more than 100 four-wheelers and 15 two-wheelers. In addition, space/slot availability of the new parking can be accessed through online mode too. Parking slots have also been reserved for Electric vehicles and the parking gates have been equipped with remote-controlled Boom Barriers. The walls of the parking have been beautified by the local artists with wall paintings.
On being directed to reserve parking area for “Specially-abled”, the officers informed the chair that the same provision has already been kept in the project.
Athar Aamir-ul-Shafi Khan, CEO Srinagar Smart City Limited outlined the silent features of the new projects inaugurated today.
He informed that the Variable Message Displays are strategically located on PAN city bases and have been integrated with ICCC platform, readable up to a distance of 150 Metres. The Control system is hosted on cloud to ensure 100% runtime. Surface Mounted Diode Technology for better visibility and IP67 Casing for all weather operability, he added.
Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Dheeraj Gupta, Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department(H&UDD); Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor; Pandurang K Pole, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir; Mohammad Aijaz, Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, and other senior officers attended the inaugural ceremony.
Junaid Azim Mattu, Mayor, Srinagar Municipal Corporation also joined through virtual mode.