Varanasi, India’s spiritual capital of India is launching the Varanasi City Challenge next month.
The initiative aims to accelerate sustainable mobility, promote healthier urban environments, and improve people’s access to services.
Varanasi faces safety concerns due to increased crowding. The challenge is aimed at creating innovative solutions using technology and design to make crowded areas safer and more accessible for religious tourists and residents, including vulnerable populations.
Winner of the Toyota Mobility Foundation, Varanasi has already embarked on a vision to transform into a Smart City with the help of integrated smart solutions. The other partners in the project are Challenge Works and World Resources Institute.
Transitioning to a smart city:
As a part of the challenge will focus on expanding access to safe, affordable, and inclusive transportation, with potential solutions incorporating data to create resilient ecosystems or reduce environmental impact through low-carbon and renewable solutions.
These include ICT and e-governance interventions which comprise a command and control centre, data centre, ITMS, CCTV surveillance and video analytics, smart parking management, solid waste management, smart street lighting, environment monitoring, etc.
The Varanasi state and civic administrations will now invite technology and sustainability innovators to help fast-track its objective.
Akshat Verma, IAS, Municipal Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer, Varanasi Municipal Corporation/Varanasi Smart City said, “Participating in the Toyota Mobility Foundation’s Sustainable Cities Challenge presents an exciting prospect for Varanasi. This initiative offers us a valuable chance to explore technical and design-related avenues for enhancing mobility within our city, benefiting both our residents and the growing influx of tourists. By collaborating with innovative minds, we aim to bolster Varanasi’s reputation as a premier global tourist destination. We eagerly anticipate the opportunity to work closely with TMF, their partners, and experts to achieve this goal.”
It must be noted that Varanasi is one of the three cities, chosen from a shortlist of over 150 cities from 46 countries.