Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JS)

Mangaluru, Oct 18: Mangaluru city corporation had organized a interaction with various cultural organisations of the city here at MCC on Saturday October 17.

Speaking at the occassion assistant commissioner of MCC Gokul Nayak said "December 15 is the last date to submit the smart city proposal to the union government. Citizens participation is the main criterion and suggestions can be given at www.mygov.in. Some people have started to give feedback.Union government will finalize the list based on the specified criteria. In the first phase 20 cities will be chosen for smart cities and we want to be in that list. The list will be announced by January 1. The state government and the central government will pay Rs 100 crore each year for 5 years for the development of the city. Rest 50 percent will be taken from private participation. We need to collect the feedback from the people and prepare a report based on it and send it to the government by December 15. Thus we have called this meeting|".

The representatives of different cultural organisations suggested thet there need to be a Ranga Mantapa in the city so that we can protect our culture. Many stressed on protecting the culture of the city as Mangaluru has a history and art like yakshagana and many other forms. Some said that basic infrastructure of the city like footpath, water facility and electricity need to be addressed. Some suggested on taking care of interest of people so that they would not migrate to different place while developing the city into smart city. Some opined that law and order in the city needs to be strengthened as modernization has created distance between people. There needs to be efforts to maintain peace and harmony in the city.

Some said that city limits need to be known as there are no hospitals beyond city limits. Some action should be taken towards making arrangements for health care beyond city limits. Many felt that parking and dedicated lane for ambulance and police need to created in the city. Some suggested to ensure smart environment by making garden in the available space and some also said that poor need to be accommodated in the smart city concept and it should not become commercial.