Smart City

NEW TOWN
A worthy Smart City or not?

        New Town, a planned satellite city, has been evolving at a furious pace in the outskirt of Kolkata, West Bengal. Its Vision to be a future ready global services hub attracting the best talent with a fine work life balance is being worked on by the present government with commendable results which is evident from the inclusion of New Town as one of India’s first Solar City. The recently developed high rising apartment scattered area consists of two main towns, Rajarhat and Bhangar. The already declared Solar City was initiated by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya with a vision to become the first technological hub in West Bengal and is also under consideration for Mr. Modis’ initiative of Smart City. In the following article we will be discussing the various advantages and challenges faced in the consideration for Smart city and will be giving our overview on the same question. Finally we give our verdict on why we feel New Town should be considered as the next Smart City.

1. It Connectivity

We consider this of utmost importance as this is the foremost feature any smart city should inculcate in their outlay. The life f the residents who are primarily living there for work purpose should be given leverage to do their work while travelling. The current proposals include multiple AP routers, each one servicing to around 1000 users making it a feasible digital platform. It also helps important updates on the city including traffic, weather and calamities to flow freely among the residents and the people visiting.

The work for the same is already bullish with a stretch of 10.5 km being enabled with hi speed Wi-Fi connecting the airport to Sector V. This interestingly is also regarded as India’s first road connectivity with the government declaring it as a green corridor. Work is underway by the West Bengal Government to add another stretch once the metro lines achieves it test run.

1. Housing and Inclusiveness
   Over the past few years there has been a massive boom in the housing sector in New Town. There are a variety of options for people ranging from premier flats to studio apartments. Coming out of residential inclusiveness the government is considering replacing all roadside shops with Kiosks which gives rise to a planned function and provides cleanliness to the surrounding environment. Public platforms including taxi stands and bus stops will also be fitted with air conditions for the comfort of the citizens. Street lighting which goes hand in hand with any housing projects has not been overlooked. 27 streets under the Smart City Plan has already been erected under the solar plan of the government with a target of 80 streets by the end of 2020.
2. Transportation and Mobility
   Keeping in mind a smart city does not require people to use their own vehicles to commute as the transportation system provides comfortable travel to the residents and the work force. In the beginning there was a challenge coping up with connecting the elaborate roadways with public transport but recently, as a government initiative, more than 100 different bus routes were formulated and implemented to provide ease of access for commuting people around the technological hub. Recently a bill has been approved for the construction of Monorail which will connect a 201 km corridor across the surrounding towns and villages. Also, the construction to connect Kolkata and New Town through Metro Rail is under full swing and the expected start date is determined in the year 2018.
3. Economy and Employment

The Government of West Bengal has worked hard in inviting tech giants to set up base in New Town Kolkata and have partially succeeded in doing so. With an area sprawling over 20 kilometers on average tech bosses like Infosys, Wipro and TCS have sprawling properties making New Town a lucrative commercial as well as professional hub. Recently, Cognizant was allotted 15 acres of space to set up their east India headquarters in the heart of New Town. Depending on the speed of development, given a specific and rational amount of time we can eventually consider New Town the Silicon Valley of India. To achieve this dream, immense involvement of residents and the government itself is needed, which is not seemingly impossible looking at the rate of development which New Town is subjected to at the moment.