Editor,
Meghalaya is going to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. Located in the North-East of India, it is also known as the ‘Abode of Clouds’ and the British called it ‘Scotland of the East’.
Meghalaya is one of the richest bio diverse areas in the world. It is also famous for its monsoons, the rich traditional festivals, and the remarkable terrains are just some of the highlights of the State.
It was founded in 1972 and in these 50 years of statehood, it has achieved many great heights and glory. It has the highest GSDP among the north-eastern states (excluding Assam). It is popular in fields of music, education, art and culture, agriculture, etc just to name a few. Maybe in a year or two we are also going to be known as one of the ‘Smart cities’ of the country.
Shillong has been selected for development under Smart Cities Mission. What is a smart city? Would Shillong truly become a smart city? The State government has set up a Special Purpose Vehicle and engaged a Project Management Consultant to prepare detailed project reports (DPRs) for various projects under Smart City Mission.
An amount of Rs 54 crore was sanctioned for the year 2018-19. But can a smart city really work without accessibility? To really understand what a smart city looks like, let us understand its characteristics. A city’s smartness is determined using a set of characteristics, including: an infrastructure based around technology, environmental initiatives, effective and highly functional public transportation, confident and progressive city plans and people able to live and work within the city using its resources.
The main goal of a smart city is to optimise city functions and promote economic growth while also improving the quality of life for citizens by using smart technologies and data analysis. However, if accessibility is not implemented in the smart cities projects a significant section of the State population would be excluded which means it would directly affect the economic growth of the State.
Our transportation system is aging and it is the only key that binds our nation together. The roads are no longer capable of bearing the rapidly increasing traffic and vehicle loads. The public mode of transportation which is available is primitive and inaccessible for people with disabilities, old people, children and pregnant women.
We are still depending on cars which means in the near future this beautiful city will be crammed with vehicles and this could have a negative impact on our lives especially on people with disabilities.
An inaccessible environment could affect the life of many people including the people with disabilities. Although the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 has clearly mentioned ‘Accessibility”, it is the responsibility of the government to make rules and lay down standards of accessibility of physical environment, transportation, information and communication. A Barrier Free Built Environment has to be the base of every structure and not as an add-on.
Our State will benefit from accessibility because with accessible transportation and barrier free environment the people with disability would be able to contribute to the GDP like everybody else. More accessible environment means more education and employment opportunities for the people. Some cities have started, some are leading the way but we can all unite to make Shillong among the top five cities in the country with regards to accessibility.
