Yes!! Our City was selected for Smart City with ‘Smart Cities Mission’ being implemented in November 2017 after Special Project Vehicle was created in April 2017. The happiness which we felt then was immense. We felt as if our prayers were finally heard. But to our surprise and shock as well, we could only see Smart bus stops, and nothing else.
Now we have a little addition to the bus stops. We have circles, that too renovated ones. These circles are as big as the roads. When I approach the circles, there is always a prayer going to HIM. It is that scary because there is always a crowd because of the oversized circles. And when you have a big bus/truck next to your tiny car, we tend to recall our past. You know why.
Yes, we have concrete roads (which are being dug up every now and then, as they have probably forgotten to put the water-pipe or the drain or some other thing). And alongside the roads are the footpaths. Do I need to remind ourselves about the state of the footpaths? And if you get hurt because of the beautiful footpaths that we have, it is not their fault. It is our’s as they have not assured us that they would take care of our lives. Please do not blame them!
Street lights are present, of course. Whether they will be on or not is a good question though. Just buy a vehicle with good headlights and trust Him and drive in the night.
And parking facility. What is that?? We hear that money is sanctioned in 100s of crores but wonder where the money has disappeared. Even during this growing inflation, we make it a point to pay our taxes on time. Sometimes even sacrificing a few of our wishes. And this is what we get in return. Hoping conscience wins over money.
We have always loved our City and we still do. But seeing it turn out to be the way it is now is really sad. SMART CITY STILL FINGERS CROSSED.
