Srinagar, Oct 26: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha inaugurated the two-day National Workshop of Smart Cities Mission on ‘Streets & Public Spaces’ in Srinagar, on Thursday.
In his address, the Lt Governor expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for organizing the national workshop in Srinagar. He welcomed the Mayors, Municipal Commissioners, Chief Executing Officers and officers representing 100 Smart Cities to J&K for knowledge sharing and experiential learning through project visits of Srinagar Smart City.
Most important element of a city is its people. With infrastructure and modern facilities, it is equally important to have vibrant public spaces to enhance aesthetics, ensure quality of life and bring positive change, solace in the lives of the citizens, the Lt Governor said.
“Srinagar Smart City is a role model for other cities of the country with impactful pedestrian plazas, recreational spaces by the waterfronts. One can feel the soul of this city with excellent urban design of streets and public spaces,” he said.
At the inaugural session, the Lt Governor talked about various initiatives like Srinagar Square, beautification of ghats to revive water transport, rejuvenation of lakefront, heritage conservation of Old City, beautification of under-utilized spaces making Srinagar a great inspiration for experts.
He said, under the guidance of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are making committed efforts to strengthen the core infrastructure in a planned and sustainable manner.
While developing Srinagar Smart City, we have adopted human-centered approach and ensured elements of traditional art and culture, heritage, smart facilities, smart governance, and sustainability are based on social equity to provide high quality of life to the residents, he added.
He emphasized the need to develop cities to meet the challenges and the growing aspirations of the people.
“Cities must be flexible to respond to the needs of citizens, competition and changes in the market and nurture core competencies for economic growth,” the Lt Governor said.
Junaid Azim Mattu, Mayor, Srinagar Municipal Corporation; Manoj Joshi, Union Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (joined through virtual mode) and Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary, MoHUA shared their views on the transformational journey of Srinagar city.
Prashant Goyal, Principal Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department, J&K; Vijay Kumar Bidhuri Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Athar Amir Khan, CEO Srinagar Smart City; Principal Secretaries from various States/ UTs and Urban Transformation Experts also attended the inaugural session.
