Srinagar: 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, to the public.
The LG 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, an official press release informed.
Speaking on the occasion, the LG 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 and 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 the citizens, to acknowledge the limits of available capacities, and strive dynamically to address the same,” asserted the LG.
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 LG 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 to the people.
Emphasising on putting Variable Message Displays (VMDs) into use as a relevant and instant information dissemination tool, the LG instructed the concerned officials to display information regarding government programs, schemes, awareness campaigns, traffic/congestion conditions, and alternate route diversions in case of high traffic; real-time info on 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 LG observed that the new parking space will provide a solution to the traffic congestion problem in the busy city centre area.
He was informed that the new parking space has been built on a total area of 16,000 sq ft and can cater to more than 100 four-wheelers and 150 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 the specially-abled people, the officers informed 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 VMDs are strategically located on PAN city basis 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 percent runtime. They have 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 LG; Pandurang K Pole, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir; Mohammad Aijaz, Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, and other senior officers attended the inaugural ceremony.
