Dear Dr. Dinesh Sharma,
I am persisting with my letters in the hope of catching your attention for the causes that our Prime Minister is espousing and where municipalities have a big role to play.
The PM is espousing the cause of smart cities. Without the basic infrastructure in place there is no way to realize this dream. However the current state of infrastructure even in the capital city of Lucknow shows that we are continuing in decades / centuries old ways and that there is little application of thought towards smart infrastructure.
A very mundane case in point is that of open drains (naali) for storm water that runs alongside boundaries of houses. Some people use a strip of the sidewalk adjoining their boundary for gardening and quite a few of them fill this drain up with mud. In many cases the drains gradually get choked up on their own. The drains are not maintained nor are the sidewalks. Though, sometimes we do see the unpalatable sight of drains being cleaned and all the stinking trash left on the sidewalks to find its way back to the drains. In fact, the sidewalks are merely muddy strips separating house boundaries from the road. Thus all the mud and dirt and litter from the sidewalks finds its way to the drain and chokes it. Many citizens have created an inlet into the sewers for draining the water that accumulates in front of their houses.
Further, there is no standard design for the sidewalk and the driveway from a house to the road. Since the corporation is not doing the sidewalks many people are having it paved at their own expense in front of their house. Now the question arises whether the pavement should be sloping towards the road or towards the drain alongside the boundary. Since the drain has disappeared in most places most house owners keep the slope towards the road. This leads to accumulation of water on the road and its consequent erosion. Also, as there are no standard designs for the driveway merging into the road, many people make it so massive and steep as to totally block the sidewalk.
This was about the residential areas. In marketplaces, the sidewalks simply become extension of shops forcing pedestrians out on the road. As sidewalks are occupied entirely by the merchants, half the road gets taken up by motorists and bikers for parking thereby choking the traffic.
We know that in most countries there are no open drains, not even for storm water. We know that footpath and driveway too have been completely standardized in more developed parts of the world and this makes life easy for all.
I would like to ask you is there anything that LMC is planning to do in this direction? And, if yes, what and by what time? Paving the footpaths may also pave the way to a smart city! And concealed storm water drains will add both aesthetics and smartness to the infrastructure.
Regards,
AK Upadhyaya
18/428 Indira Nagar
Lucknow - 16.
Mob: 9044275658
I am persisting with my letters in the hope of catching your attention for the causes that our Prime Minister is espousing and where municipalities have a big role to play.
The PM is espousing the cause of smart cities. Without the basic infrastructure in place there is no way to realize this dream. However the current state of infrastructure even in the capital city of Lucknow shows that we are continuing in decades / centuries old ways and that there is little application of thought towards smart infrastructure.
A very mundane case in point is that of open drains (naali) for storm water that runs alongside boundaries of houses. Some people use a strip of the sidewalk adjoining their boundary for gardening and quite a few of them fill this drain up with mud. In many cases the drains gradually get choked up on their own. The drains are not maintained nor are the sidewalks. Though, sometimes we do see the unpalatable sight of drains being cleaned and all the stinking trash left on the sidewalks to find its way back to the drains. In fact, the sidewalks are merely muddy strips separating house boundaries from the road. Thus all the mud and dirt and litter from the sidewalks finds its way to the drain and chokes it. Many citizens have created an inlet into the sewers for draining the water that accumulates in front of their houses.
Further, there is no standard design for the sidewalk and the driveway from a house to the road. Since the corporation is not doing the sidewalks many people are having it paved at their own expense in front of their house. Now the question arises whether the pavement should be sloping towards the road or towards the drain alongside the boundary. Since the drain has disappeared in most places most house owners keep the slope towards the road. This leads to accumulation of water on the road and its consequent erosion. Also, as there are no standard designs for the driveway merging into the road, many people make it so massive and steep as to totally block the sidewalk.
This was about the residential areas. In marketplaces, the sidewalks simply become extension of shops forcing pedestrians out on the road. As sidewalks are occupied entirely by the merchants, half the road gets taken up by motorists and bikers for parking thereby choking the traffic.
We know that in most countries there are no open drains, not even for storm water. We know that footpath and driveway too have been completely standardized in more developed parts of the world and this makes life easy for all.
I would like to ask you is there anything that LMC is planning to do in this direction? And, if yes, what and by what time? Paving the footpaths may also pave the way to a smart city! And concealed storm water drains will add both aesthetics and smartness to the infrastructure.
Regards,
AK Upadhyaya
18/428 Indira Nagar
Lucknow - 16.
Mob: 9044275658
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