Discussion on people-centric smart Madurai

October 26, 2018 06:35 pm | Updated October 27, 2018 08:20 am IST - MADURAI

G. Balaji, Professor, Architecture Department of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, addressing a workshop in Madurai on Friday.

G. Balaji, Professor, Architecture Department of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, addressing a workshop in Madurai on Friday.

Members of various non-governmental organisations and educational institutions met to discuss various citizen-centric aspects applied to Madurai’s Smart City Mission proposal here on Friday.

This was part of a workshop on ‘Building people's agenda for Smart Madurai’ conducted by South Central India Network for Development Alternatives (SCINDeA) and Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change (INECC).

G. Balaji, Professor, Architecture Department of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, inaugurated the discussion. After explaining the basics of the proposed projects under the Smart City Mission, he elucidated the rehabilitation programmes for urban poor under to the Mission.

The professor said that the core city area under the mission that spans a distance of 1,300 acres looks at streamlining its underground drainage facility, its water sources and its energy consumption.

He said that about 40% of the core city now had constructed toilets and e-toilet facilities. Most of the core city has UGD lines and that tourist amenities are being developed at Periyar bus stand at a large scale, Mr. Balaji said.

“At least 40% of the tube lights have been replaced by LED lights and the Corporation attempts to make the change across the city,” he said.

Stating his opinion, the professor said that individuals must takes steps to ensure that there are basic changes from their end in order to ensure that the mission is successful. He said that individual sewage treatment plants are the answer to the prevention of release of untreated sewage into the Vaigai.

Other speakers, including S. Chandran, Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, V. Kirubakaran, Director, Centre for Rural Energy, Gandhigram Rural Institute, and Bhaskaran of Honeywell Technologies, spoke on topics, including water, urban energy and technology's role in building a ‘Smart City.’

Mr. Chandran focused his discussion on reusing waste water and protecting channels and ancient tank systems. He too emphasised on the need for public participation for sustainable change.

“Unless we take charge of our own waterbodies, our children, like in today's times, will never be able to enter the Vaigai,” he said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.