First Indian City Ready For World Smart City Award
According to a news report currently posted by the Times of India group of newspapers, Bhubaneswar has become the first Indian city that has been selected as one of the finalists to compete for the World Smart City Awards at Barcelona pretty soon. Incidentally, the Odisha capital has created the initial group of 20 cities that were selected to be developed as a smart city, à la Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship program.
According to Government of India Urban Development Ministry sources, Bhubaneswar had submitted its proposal to the evaluating committee of the World Smart City Awards organized by Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) and is awaiting results.
“Any Indian city being g finalist is itself a big achievement,” commented a ministry spokesperson, “since the smart city scheme was launched only a year ago. Developing 100 smart cities is a big task. Recognition of the efforts being made by Indian cities the t global level will encourage other cities to do better.”. “Nevertheless, the Bhubaneswar team will have to make a presentation before the jury for getting an award,” he added. However, Bhubaneswar based WEFE Technologies appear to have contributed to this crucial selection by way of satisfying one of the prime criteria, such as ensuring the safety and security of the citizen of the city (Safe City) by way of providing surveillance cameras and CCTV in Bhubaneswar and adjoining areas. Meanwhile, it may be worthwhile taking a look at the basics of World Smart City program in which Amsterdam has won the first prize at the World Smart City Award in 2012, while Copenhagen won the award for its ‘Copenhagen Connecting Plan’.
Essentials of World Smart City Program And Awards
The World Smart City Awards have been established with the idea of identifying outstanding smart projects and promoting their development, as well as to help aid cities in becoming more sustainable, efficient, economically viable and of course, inhabitable. Businesses, entrepreneurs, research hubs, non-governmental organizations and public or private consortiums are welcome to pitch their innovative smart city strategies and solutions to be evaluated by a specialist panel in four categories and thus become eligible to earn the award.
World Smart City Awards
have been established with the idea of identifying outstanding smart projects and promoting their development, as well as to help aid cities in becoming more sustainable, efficient, economically viable and of course, inhabitable. Businesses, entrepreneurs, research hubs, non-governmental organizations and public or private consortiums are welcome to pitch their innovative smart city strategies and solutions to be evaluated by a specialist panel in four categories and thus become eligible to earn the award.
Key Features Of A Smart City
Not unlike owning a smartphone or smart car (Hybrid car), living in a smart city immediately raises the status of its citizen. Meanwhile, the concept has caught on while countries worldwide are vying with each other to demonstrate how they are implementing smart city solutions. For instance, Dubai which will be hosting World Expo 2020 provided a fairly interesting demonstration by way of displaying a robotic policeman patrolling busy and congested parts of the megacity, mimicking the style of his human counterpart. What’s more, locals, as well as foreigners, can stop by and converse with such robots, using their touchscreen to report crime post haste. Similar public/ private partnership has been initiated in Detroit to reduce crime where some of McDonald’s fast food restaurants have joined a list of businesses featuring enhanced lighting and high-resolution video cameras as part of crime-fighting tactic known as Project Green Light.
How WEFE Technologies Have Contributed Towards The Selection
Bhubaneswar based WEFE Technologies have contributed towards satisfying one of the key factors that go in favor of earning the award, namely the security and safety of the citizen. This has been achieved by them by way of providing surveillance cameras and CCTV installations in schools, colleges, banks, private and government organizations, as also in hospitals, nursing homes and daycare facilities all over the city of Bhubaneswar and adjoining areas such as Khurda, Cuttack, and Sambalpur.
Incidentally, a CCTV (Closed-circuit television) system supplied by WEFE Technologies makes use of video cameras installed at strategic spots to monitor both the interior as well as the exterior of a property by constantly transmitting signals to a monitor or set of monitors placed before viewers. This serves dual purposes – primarily by recording all events as long it is kept operative and so can provide evidence about any crime committed within or exterior of the premises, and secondly by posing a threat against criminals, deterring their plans to commit any crime.
As the course of events progresses, Bhubaneswar is going to receive the much coveted World Smart City Award, a laurel for which every Indian will become proud and feel honored.
