If smartness were judged by fairy lights and Instagram reels, perhaps yes. But cities aren’t judged by how they look at night – they’re judged by how they work during the day. And if Polo View is the crown jewel of Srinagar’s Smart City mission, then we’re confusing decoration with development, illusion with innovation, and photo-ops with public service.
According to official figures, over Rs 980 crore has been spent under the Srinagar Smart City project –a staggering sum for cosmetic facelifts, elite zones, and street decor. But where’s the sewage reform, the traffic easing, the citizen comfort? The project seems less like a people-centric urban plan and more like a bureaucratic banquet, where contracts, tenders, and “inspections” serve private interests. Accountability must rest squarely on the Smart City CEO, Municipal Corporation, and the UT administration, who converted public money into pavement tiles and pedestrian illusions. Was smartness ever the goal – or just a smart way to burn funds?
Sample Bakshi Stadium as just one example, even as there are dozens more that could be mentioned. Despite a substantial investment of Rs 40.85 crore aimed at transforming Bakshi Stadium into a FIFA-standard facility, the venue succumbed to flooding after a single rainfall. The matter died as waters receded. People responsible for this misstep must have had a party with the next morning’s sunshine. Sickening!
Here is a comparative what a smart city must have, what Srinagar has on the contrary and what is the bitter truth:
| # | What a Smart City Must Have | What Srinagar Actually Has | Bitter Truth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uninterrupted Power Supply | Candle-lit dinners in winter, involuntary | LED street lights shine on roads, not homes. The only thing 24×7 is the outage. |
| 2 | Sewage & Drainage Infrastructure | Smelly canals, clogged drains, and flooded bylanes, broken tiles | Smart cities don’t smell like medieval towns. Polo View may glitter, but Lal Chowk still floats on a downpour. |
| 3 | Public Transport Efficiency | You eventually pick up an auto | If you survive a matador/Sumo ride, you’re ready for K2. Srinagar transport is a treadmill test. |
| 4 | Solid Waste Management | Garbage heaps serenading tourists | In a smart city, trash is processed. In Srinagar, it poses for selfies with shikaras. |
| 5 | Digital Citizen Services | What the hell is that! | Smart cities respond to citizens. Ours redirects you to a burly old self-made Samaritan telling you there is no parking around. |
| 6 | Inclusive Urban Planning | Polo View is for selfies, not for wheelchairs or vendors | You can walk, but only if you’re rich, healthy, and own an iPhone. Smart for a few, stupid for most. Neither the walker is happy, nor are the shopkeepers. Earlier they did better business. |
| 7 | Disaster Preparedness | Every downpour is a panic rehearsal for 2014 floods. | Rain reveals all: faulty drains, sinking roads, and polyethene, and poop popping up. We’re one thunderstorm away from Atlantis. |
| 8 | Real-Time Traffic Management | Gridlock, no parking, and Google Maps stuck in 1999 | Jahangir Chowk flyover goes up, but traffic doesn’t move. Those broken and dirty plastic road barriers confuse you right before an ascent or descent. The traffic policeman (whenever he is manning them) must be cursing his fate. Smart cities need flow, not chaos. |
| 9 | Civic Participation | Projects planned behind closed doors, implemented on broken roads | Who asked for Polo View? Certainly not the street vendor. Or even the shopkeepers there! Did they? |
