The Puducherry Smart City Development Limited (PSCDL) Board has announced that it has given approval to two major projects — bicycle sharing and modular toilets — under the first phase.
Chief Secretary Ashwani Kumar, who headed the 12-member Board, gave approval for both the projects recently. Two operators have also been decided for the implementation of both the projects.
The City Level Advisory Forum has listed 63 projects, out of which the bicycle sharing project is amongst the 22 other projects to be done on a priority basis and are worth Rs 493.51 crores.
Under this project, a bicycle track of 10.3 km in the Area Based Development component of the smart cities mission will also be built.
Commenting on this development, Arjun Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of PSCDL told an English Daily that “The operator has been approved by PSCDL. To start with, we are planning to establish around 21 docking stations with 10 to 15 cycles in each station. PSCDL will devise the working model in consultation with the operator. The first phase of the project will cover the Boulevard and it will be subsequently expanded to the city. The operator has been asked to start the work.”
The new project will include regular and e-cycles which will have GPS tracking facility that will help individuals to track the nearest docking stations. These bicycles will also have smart locks that will only open when provided with the QR code.
The prominent areas that are being selected for the bicycle docking stations are Beach Promenade, Bharathi Park, Gandhi Thidal, Mairie building, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and the Railway Station.
The second project of modular toilets is expected to come in the Boulevard area which is frequently been used by the tourists. The work on 10 e-toilets installations will commence soon.
“Apart from this, project reports submitted by line departments on Stormwater drainage systems and convergence of transformers has also been approved by the Board,” Sharma added.
