Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Thursday 3 September 2015

SIMPLE CITIES ?


SIMPLE   CITIES  ?

These days there is a lot of excitement re Central Government plan to convert 100 existing cities into " Smart Cities " .
List is out but surprisingly , cities which did not make to this list , are not protesting at being left out !
How come ?
I presume , citizens of these left out cities are thinking :

"  Oh , sure , it would be nice to have fully solar powered city , having 6 lane boulevards , flanked by gleaming office towers , city-wide free Wi-Fi , covered gutters with automated garbage chutes from each flat , only self driven electric cars ( like the one , Shri Modi rode in Madsar City ) , escalators everywhere , 24 hour supply of water that you can drink straight out of the tap ,.......etc etc "

But then they look around and say :

" No , no ! We don't want a Smart City
  Just give us a Simple City
  A city where ,
  *  Roads may be only 2 lane wide but without potholes
  *  Footpaths are only 3 feet wide but free of hawkers
  *  No garbage-chutes in every flat but neither garbage dumps on streets
  *  No electric cars but neither smoke belching diesel / kerosene rickshaws
  *  No drinkable water from tap but neither water full of dirt / dung / germs
  *  No high rise residential towers but nor sprawling slums with open drains
  *  No solar power but certainly garbage generated power / bio-fuel
  *  No zipping metros but neither endless traffic jams
  *  No city-wide free Wi-Fi but nor bundles of cables hanging from poles
  *  No swanky office blocks but  Sulabh Sauchalayas on every corner
  *  No escalators everywhere but plenty of overhead bridges on roads
  *  No fancy shopping malls but  hawkers only in hawking zones
  *  No  sprawling golf courses but playgrounds for kids on every street
  *  OK if no IIM but several Industrial Training Institutes ( ITI ) in my city
  *  Instead of 5 star hospitals , let there be many public health centers "

Citizens are saying :

To convert 100 cities into " Smart Cities ", will take years and cost lakhs of crores of Rupees , where a 500 sq ft flat will sell for Rs 5 crores !

To transform 900 cities into " Simple Cities ", can be done in months and cost , a few crores each  - and I don't need to uproot my family / find a job

Let us get our priorities right !

I hope the Ministers / Municipal Corporators / Town Planners are listening !

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hemen  parekh
03  Sept  2015
 






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