Smart City ambitions come under question

PANAJI: The capital city waterlogging woes exposed the poor planning and misplaced priorities of civic authorities. After severe waterlogging, questions were being asked about Panaji's Smart City ambitions.
Residents said that even before heavy rains lashed the city, the capital's roads were beginning to show signs of neglect with potholes, puddles of water, jutting out fibre optic lines.
All this even as Imagine Panaji Smart City Development limited pursued projects such as the public bicycle sharing system, Goa Intelligent City Management platform and the City Smart Card Payment System.
"Installation of CCTV cameras is a misplaced priority in the Panjim Smart City Mission as other real issues are ignored like construction of better roads, drainage system, sewage facilities, garbage management, uninterrupted electricity, and restoration of the St Inez Creek, which should take precedence," former NIO scientist Stephen Dias said.
As St Inez Creek overflowed, garbage lay strewn on roads, and rain water gushed into shops and homes, city residents began to question the city's smart ambitions.
Some residents, including councillors, said the rains had clearly caught the Corporation of the City of Panaji napping. CCP commissioner Ajit Roy rejected the claim and said that "all precautionary steps were taken" and a team of CCP workers were ready to tackle flooding issues.
Roy added that while the city had grown, the drainage network had not kept pace with the rapid construction activity.
"There have been problems in a few places in the city, in wards 9 and 10 because of the carrying capacity of the city," Roy said.
Ironically, the name Panji or Ponji is said to mean the "land that never gets flooded" a fact that finds mention on the Smart City website.