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'Smart' Gandhinagar is now wired to the future

Gujarat capital launches city-wide WiFi, smart street lights, speed and face detection surveillance

From seamless WiFi connectivity (unlike hotspots planned other cities) to smart sensor-enabled traffic lights that brighten or dim, based on vehicular traffic density, the first phase of the smart city project has been rolled out in the capital city of Gujarat, ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) 2017 by the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC).

The Gandhinagar smart city project also includes services like internet protocol-based surveillance, environment sensors, digital display, speed and face detection traffic management, automatic numberplate recognition, public address system (PAS), citizens’ helpdesk mobile application and a centralised command centre to monitor and control activities on ground.

Foundation laid for 5-star hotel at Gandhinagar

Tenders are being issued for the re development project of 23 railway stations across the country. Stations covered under the Smart City project will get augmented facilities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with railway minister Suresh Prabhu laid the foundation stone for the Rs 254 crore, 300-room five star hotel project at the Gandhinagar Railway station. Prabhu said that the stations marked for redevelopment include Habibganj in Madhya Pradesh, and Ludhiana and Amritsar in Punjab.

The Prime Minister said that while the railway's share in freight transportation in India was 15% to 20%, it was around 70% in other countries.Indian Railways is working to reverse the trend, he said. Railway electrification projects have been undertaken, he said. "Earlier the railway ministry was offered as a perk to political parties joining a coalition," he said. But now, importance was being accorded to rail ways, he said. He said railway projects are being taken up expeditiously . He said a major effort was on to make railway journeys safe; the mission includ ing designing safe coaches. He said that experts from other countries are being consulted too. He said that railway projects in the country had attracted the maximum foreign direct investment.

As for the hotel project, the facility will be being hi-tech and passenger-friendly. The new station will be redeveloped in two years and will be inaugurated by January 2019. The Gujarat government had recently formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the speedy implementation of redevelopment of this railway station. The SPV , known as the Gandhinagar Railway and Urban Development Company Ltd, is a government company. The station will have three platforms, and two railway tracks will be designated for trains that don't halt at the station. Two local and three express trains pass through Gandhinagar.

Do new railway stations support 'multimode transportation'? Five star hotel is affordable to which type of railway users? Whether it is a highspeed or a bullet train station to attract rich? What type of 'affordable accommodation' available for poor railway passengers? (Whether affordable accommodation mandatory for every type of builder?) Unless hotel is for railway users it will just be creating traffic congestion around station. whether the goal is just to generate more revenue to railways? Anyway including railway station under smart city is an appreciable act as generally railway station is heart of city.