34 embassy delegates give NDMC suggestions on smart city

Delegates from 34 embassies in the national capital today put forward their ideas and suggestions for a smart city in an interactive session organised by New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
From safety of women to menace of stray dogs and monkeys in the posh Lutyens' zone, the delegates highlighted a series of issues faced by them.
Delegates from 34 countries participated in the event which served as a perfect platform for them to point out major irritants in the area under the jurisdiction of the council, apart from giving suggestions to develop it as a smart city.
NDMC had qualified as Delhi's smart city, according to the list of 98 Smart Cities released by the Centre in August.

The major problem areas that were echoed by almost all the delegates were traffic congestion and safety of women.
There should be a strict enforcement of traffic rules. Everyone is driving as rash as possible these days, said the delegate from Romania. "I have faced traffic jams due to cows on roads," the Ugandan diplomat mentioned.

Others drew NDMC's attention towards safety of women. Some of them said that their wives fear going out at the night due to lack of functioning street-lights in the area.
While the Romanian delegate, highlighting the menace of stray animals, told the session that his daughter was bitten by a monkey recently, the diplomat from Japan brought to the council's notice the water-logging problem in the area during the rainy season and requested NDMC to focus on it.

The capital's air quality was another area the embassies were worried about.
The Belgium representative suggested of taking a long view of the the smart city project and bring in advanced facilities which will be useful five years from now.
Addressing the meet, NDMC chairperson Naresh Kumar said the agency shall set global benchmark in providing efficient, sustainable civic amenities, to provide world-class quality of life to all residents and visitors in a truly participative and democratic environment enabled through technology.
Assuring the delegates that their suggestions will be considered, Kumar said that the embassies will be sent a copy of the draft proposal on smart city.