Another 13 new smart cities announced; Mangaluru continues to wait its turn

May 25, 2016

New Delhi, May 25: The Union government on Tuesday announced the names of 13 more cities that will be developed under the Centre's “Smart City Mission.” Lucknow in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh tops the list, followed by Warangal in Telangana and Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.

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These cities were chosen from the 23 that failed to get representation in the first round of a competition held in January, and participated in the “fast-track competition.” The results were announced by Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday.

Other cities on the list are Chandigarh, Raipur (Chhattisgarh), New Town Kolkata, Bhagalpur (Bihar), Panaji (Goa), Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Imphal (Manipur), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Agartala (Tripura) and Faridabad (Haryana). “The 13 cities selected in the competition have proposed a total investment of Rs. 30,229 crore. With this, the investment proposed by 33 cities [20 cities made the cut in January] under the smart city plans is now Rs. 80,789 crore,” Mr. Naidu told the media.

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Karnataka's coastal city of Mangaluru does not figure in the list of 13 smart cities. In fact the local elected representatives in Mangaluru had made all possible efforts to make it in the first list of 20 smart cities announced in January this year. The wait continued.

Next round

Seven cities — Patna (Bihar), Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), Naya Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Bengaluru (Karnataka) and Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) — that were not among the 100 shortlisted for the competition will be able to participate in the next round, the Minister added.

Of the 13 cities that qualified for the project, four are from BJP-ruled States (Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jharkhand and Haryana) while two are from Congress-governed States (Himachal Pradesh and Manipur). Lucknow is in Samajwadi Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh, while Bhagalpur is in Bihar, where the JD(U), the RJD and the Congress are ruling coalition partners. Warangal is in Telangana, which is ruled by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.Apart from these, The Union Territories of Chandigarh and Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands were also among the winners of this round.

Ten cities that failed to make the cut are: Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh), Shillong (Meghalaya), Namchi (Sikkim), Diu (Daman & Diu), Oulgaret (Puducherry), Silvassa (Dadra and Nagar Haveli), Kohima (Nagaland), Aizawl (Mizoram), Kavaratti (Lakshadweep) and Dehradun (Uttarakhand). They will be able to participate in the next round with other cities.

Highlights of project

Assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation are some of the highlights of the smart city project.

It aims to transform 100 cities by 2019-20, with the Union government providing financial support of Rs. 48,000 crore over five years.

Central assistance

Each city will receive Central assistance of Rs. 200 crore in the first year and Rs. 100. crore over the three subsequent financial years. State governments and respective urban local bodies will also match the Centre's contribution. While 20 cities were selected in 2015-16 as per the Mission's guidelines, another 40 (including the 13)will be selected this year. The remaining will be chosen in the next financial year.

What are smart cities?

A 'smart city' is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents. There are many technological platforms involved, including but not limited to automated sensor networks and data centres.

According to the documents released on the Smart Cities website, the core infrastructure in a smart city would include:

— Adequate water supply

— Assured electricity supply

— Sanitation, including solid waste management

— Efficient urban mobility and public transport

— Affordable housing, especially for the poor

— Robust IT connectivity and digitalisation

— Good governance, especially e-Governance and citizen participation

— Sustainable environment

— Safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly

— Health and education

Also Read : Bengaluru, six other state capitals to compete for Smart Cities Mission

Comments

Mangalore....wow...and smart city... Political Drama only..
No communal harmony..
No Water ...
No proper roads..Still incomplete, pentagonal and hexagonal shaped flyovers..
Sewage flowing all over also connected to the rain water canals through middle of the city...
No parking in the city.
Whole city looks like a bus stand .....
Trees moved without any plan....
I dont see any hope for the coming 10 years also, may be to go worst whoever rules....God save our DK...

Ram Bhat ask Modi and sankayya to add Mangalore in smart city list. Thanks to Nalin for doing nothing for Mangalore city. Mr. Moily bring money from ONGC to build new building for Lady Goshen but Smart Mangalorean reject him and now Lady Goshen building waiting for Nalin action but Nalin is busy making money instead of developments in the city.

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Lack of repatriation flights: Siddaramaiah pays heed to woes of Kannadigas stranded in Saudi Arabia

coastaldigest.com news network

May 26,2020

Bengaluru, May 26: Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah today held a video conference with Kannadiga businessmen in Saudi Arabia and paid heed to the woes of Saudi Kannadigas amidst covid-19 lockdown.

Sheikh Karnire, Director of Operations Expertise Contracting Co, Mohammad Mansoor, Chairman of Saara Group and President of OIC Bahrain, and Ismaeel, CEO of Realtech Industrial Services among others explained Mr Siddaramaiah the need to operate repatriation flights from Saudi Arabia to Mangaluru and Bengaluru.

They said among the thousands of stranded Kannadigas in Saudi Arabia there are a large number of pregnant women, elderly people, patients who need immediate medical attention.

They urged Siddaramaiah to exert pressure on the chief minister of Karnataka B S Yediyurappa and union ministers to arrange repatriation flights in the current schedule of Vande Bharat Mission itself.

Siddaramaiah assured to take up the issue with the chief minister and other authorities concerned.

Comments

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Shantanu Gupta’s book on BJP to become part of curriculum in Indonesia’s Islamic University

News Network

February 24,2020

New Delhi, Feb 24: A book on the history of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will become a part of a course in the Islamic University of Indonesia, as the party’s two consecutive victories in India’s general elections has evoked interest among academicians, a faculty member said.

The book, titled Bhartiya Janata Party — Past, Present & Future, Story of World’s Largest Political Party and written by Shantanu Gupta, will become a part of the syllabus for undergraduate students of South Asian studies in the Department of International Relations.

Hadza Min Fadhli, a faculty member at the university, said there was a rising interest in the BJP’s rise among academicians in Indonesia, especially after the party won two general elections in India.

He said the book would be part of the syllabus for undergraduate courses in South Asian studies in the Department of International Relations.

Mr. Hadza said he got to know about the book during a recent visit to India as part of the Kautilya Fellowship programme, organised by the India Foundation. “We in Indonesia intend to further strengthen our relations with India. Therefore, it is important to understand its ruling party. We expect the BJP would also intend to do the same,” Mr. Hadza said.

When asked about the book being selected to be a part of a course in an Indonesian university, Mr. Gupta said global recognition of his work is immensely satisfying.

This book chronicles the history of the BJP which, Mr. Gupta said, described the saffron party as the latest political manifestation of the various nationalist movements that the country has seen.

Mr. Gupta has authored five other books, including a biography of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and a book on football in India.

Comments

Stupidity of faculty.

They should know the reaction of Malaysians to BJP's attrocities.

When Malaysia outright knows BJP's agenda, they reacted.

This decission of Indonesian faculty shows clear stupidity and his mental stability.

God give wisdom to Indonesians

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Flight chartered by ‘Expertise’ repatriates stranded Saudi Kannadigas to Mangaluru along with employees

coastaldigest.com news network

June 11,2020

Mangaluru, June 11: The Saudi Arabia based Expertise Contracting Company, which is repatriating its employees to India and other countries, today allocated around 90 seats of one of its chartered flights to Kannadigas stranded in Saudi Arabia.

The Gulf Air flight took off with around 175 passengers on board from Dammam International Airport around noon local time. It is expected to land at Mangaluru International Airport at around 7 p.m. Indian time.

In fact the company had chartered the flights only to repatriate its employees. However, due to the lack of special flights under Vande Bharati Mission, the company decided to help the other stranded Kannadigas in Saudi Arabia, who had approached Saudi Kannadigas Humanity Forum for help.

A company official said that around 2,000 employees from various countries in the Indian subcontinent are being repatriated, of which 1,665 are Indians. Already hundreds of them have reached India, and hundreds are still waiting for repatriation.

“We are grateful to Expertise for allowing to travel in the flight which the company had chartered to repatriate its own employees,” said one of the passengers before boarding the flight at the airport.

Director of Expertise, KS Shaikh said the 20-year-old Expertise group, one of the largest conglomerates in the GCC operating in petrochemical and heavy equipment sectors, has more than 10,000 employees and their family members in the Gulf, mainly in Jubail, one of the largest industrial cities.

Of these, the company has chosen over 2,000 employees for the covid-related repatriations considering various emergencies. He said 12 chartered flights have been engaged to carry out the repatriation exercise to the Indian subcontinent.