Shillong, Nov 20 (IANS): Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said on Wednesday that the state government aims to install submarine cables in Shillong and each district and bocks will be connected to an Information Technology (IT) network.

“We are working aggressively to ensure that we are able to land the submarine cables in Shillong and our goal is to connect every block and every district in a complete IT network,” said the Chief Minister while inaugurating the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) in Shillong in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister, and Minister, Urban Affairs Sniawbhalang Dhar and other senior government officials.

The Chief Minister further said that the ICCC will empower to bring in better governance in a smarter manner because it’s not only about a smart city but a smart governance.

Sangma mentioned that the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) is the brain of the entire Shillong smart city.

“This is a platform that can connect different activities in the Information Technology field and its being an open Application Programming Interface (API) makes it even more special, the potential of the ICCC is immense and this centre will be a mechanism and technology that can assist in making right and timely decisions,” he said.

Talking about the uses of the ICCC in surveillance, management of disasters, dissemination of information and management of daily city operations the Chief Minister said: “Technology is only as good as it is applied and having this ICCC does not mean we will be free from challenges and issues but the information from this ICCC and its application in decision making and the action ensuing from it is what will make a difference.”

He urged departments like IT, Urban, Police, and Municipal to work out the SOPs, and protocols and have the systems in place at the earliest so that the technology that is now available can be used for the improvement of Shillong city and actually make it a smart city.

Sangma said that the next step is to create a massive data centre at the ICCC, “Meghalaya should become the data centre hub of not only the North East but the entire eastern region because we have the potential for it.”

He also said that the government is putting up optical fibre connectivity to every block and every district will ultimately be connected to the ICCC.

The Chief Minister elicited the participation and cooperation of the people and the community and added, “A city can only be smart when all work together not only to make it a smart city but a great city.”

He also said that cities like Tura and Jowai will be integrated into the ICCC in future.