The solution to several of the city’s woes could lie in the collection of data about the working of the civic agencies. Internet of Things (IoT) devices can help with the data collection, according to city administrators from the United Kingdom who were in Bengaluru on Thursday to discuss methods to tackle civic issues.
Addressing a gathering of officials from civic agencies, politicians and civil society, David Cawthray, Assistant Director, Information Services at the Bradford Council in West Yorkshire said that there are several common problems in Bengaluru and Bradford. “Every time I come here, I hear news of lakes on fire, terrible public transport and other issues. We have such problems as well, but maybe on a smaller scale. Please don't forget the uniqueness of your city when planning for solutions,” he said.
Pushing for open data sharing policies, Mr. Cawthray listed out the benefits that gathering and sharing of data had brought about for Bradford’s residents as well as the authorities. “It helps with targeted campaigns. For example, we worked with the Bradford University and the National Health Service to gather non-identifiable data which showed that people with respiratory conditions in some areas were going to the accident and emergency ward instead of a general practitioner. We could then focus on these areas. While the direct business sense in open data is intangible, the benefits can be seen on the ground,” he said.
Earlier, Mark Atherton, Director of Environment, Greater Manchester at Association of Greater Manchester Authorities discussed how communities were taking over ownership of public places like bowling greens, parks and even libraries from the cash-strapped city councils. “Solutions to problems will have to come from communities as well. The garbage problem in the city cannot be solved by the civic agency alone and the commissioner cannot take all the flak,” he said about Bengaluru's garbage problems.
Srikanth Viswanathan, CEO, Janaagraha Center for Citizenship and Democracy, the organisers of the interaction, said they are looking to create blueprints for transport, garbage, energy and other sectors that will highlight issues and possible solutions. Janaagraha had undertaken a similar exercise for the city a few months ago. “The solutions presented here today may not be applied directly to Bengaluru as the context and scenario are different. But understanding how they approach problems can give us some insights,” said Mr. Viswanathan.
Arvind Bellad, MLA from Hubballi-Dharwad, who was present at the session, said that competition between cities and wards to excel in providing civic amenities is missing in Karnataka. “We need to re-examine the way files move and decisions are taken. We should collect more data. Our cities have no data collection at all,” he said.
