Chennai: A stakeholders meeting called by Chennai corporation to explain the basics of the city's participation in Smart Cities programme, ended with a senior official earning applause from the public for his speech.
K.S. Kandasamy, deputy commissioner (works) of Chennai corporation, was applauded after he asked the public to hold hands together with the corporation and help the local body win the smart city "race".
Kandasamy's intervention during the programme was necessitated after a series of communication errors by earlier speakers, notably the Mayor and the representative for the consultant firm Jones Lang Lasalle.
The meet started off on an inauspicious note after the Mayor Saidai Duraisamy called out the public on their late arrival. The meeting which was scheduled to start at 6 pm, began at 6.50 pm. The Mayor thinking he was aiming a harmless joke at the public, was riled by audience members for his comment, when he said it was because the public turned up late for the function, that the event was delayed.
In many ways, the meeting itself was a comedy of errors. Representatives of residents welfare associations, who were invited, were shocked to find that the corporation had not invited them to explain on the planned project for a smart city.
"I came here all the way from Ayanavaram with the hope that I would be able to air my suggestion on Smart City. I think smart cities ought not to have encroachments on footpaths, but Chennai is full of it. They did not let me talk, so I am writing the suggestion and dropping it in the box," said 68-year-old Jayalakshmi.
With voices from the crowd inside the packed auditorium interrupting the consultant representative, Kandasamy stepped in to clarify on the procedure. At the end, it was Kandasamy's comment, "There are 99 other cities looking to defeat Chennai, so we need your (public) support in this," that was reminiscent of a half time speech delivered by an inspired sports coach, which won over the audience members and earned him the applause.
During the meet, the corporation announced it was taking suggestions from the public until October 15, before it decides on the nitty-gritty of the project. Members of the public can drop their suggestions in boxes which will be placed in every zonal office of the corporation.
Tech savvy public can e-mail the corporation or send the suggestions on the corporation's official website or their facebook page (chennaismartcity). Residents can also access the Central Government's mygov.in website and scroll to Chennai smart city page to send their suggestions while tweets on the subject should include @ChennaiSmartCity tag.
