KARACHI: The government should apply the concept of smart cities in Sindh, as modern technology has made it possible to develop our major and secondary cities and towns swiftly, said Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor here Sunday.
He said there are several benefits of smart cities. They have the potential to significantly improve the level of transport available across the city. They improve the ability to better manage traffic, track public transportation and better serve the citizens with consistent information and lower prices.
He said the smart cities ensure efficient public services: with limited amounts of natural resources left to meet people’s needs, smart cities will have the technologies and necessary tools to reduce consumption of those resources and reduce waste of water, electricity, etc. without subtracting any factor.
Altaf Shakoor said in research show that smart cities, the energy-efficient buildings can improve air quality, use renewable energy sources, and reduce reliance on non-renewable energy sources. He said people should have access to high-speed internet services at affordable prices and devices, with equal opportunities to access public Wi-Fi in local areas.
He said with the help of smart technology, cities can predict and analytically identify potential areas of infrastructure failure before it happens. These cities provide many business and employment opportunities, as people have equal access to basic resources such as transportation, internet connection, and job opportunities. Also with the help of technology, authorities can closely monitor people’s interactions, reducing crime rates.
Altaf Shakoor asked that besides making our major urban centers smart cities we should also focus on developing our second-tier or secondary cities as they play a crucial role in uplift.
He said the second-tier or secondary cities have their own socio-economic and political cultures that differ from megacities. They have more land, are less developed, and offer more opportunities for investment, adaptation, and improvisation. These cities are important emerging centers of economic activity that relieve the pressures of migration to megacities.
Altaf Shakoor said while the large cities play a significant role in shaping the economic geography of cities in fostering global trade, travel and investment, it is secondary cities which will have a much stronger influence in the future upon the economic development.
He said the main second-tier cities of Sindh like Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Nawabshah and Mirpurkhas lack modern education and healthcare facilities and their citizens have to travel to Karachi for better education and healthcare. He said civic infrastructure in the second-tier cities of Sindh is far behind if compared to the infrastructure of the same cities in Punjab.
He said that the provincial and federal governments should allocate special funding for rapid uplift in the secondary cities of Sindh. He said their lingering development projects should be completed on priority. In this regard he particularly mentioned the lingering project of Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway. He also demanded an urgent uplift of Gorakh hills to give facilities to tourists and residents of surrounding areas.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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