LED display boards in city defunct
The LED boards, installed by entities, including the housing and urban development department, Water Corporation of Odisha (WATCO), Odisha State Pollution Control Board, the Smart City authorities and the commissionerate police, are strategically placed in key parts of the city. They serve a vital role in disseminating real-time information to the public.
At several city junctions, these digital boards are designed to offer general information about the city, while others, located in strategic areas, provide updates on air pollution levels.
Boards installed by the commissionerate police offer insights into police services and those by WATCO detail the water supply status across the city's 115 urban local bodies.
The Smart City authorities have also installed additional digital boards as part of the smart city mission to communicate details of govt schemes, promote road safety and raise awareness about seasonal diseases such as dengue and diarrhoea.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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However, the current state of disrepair has rendered many of these boards non-functional, sparking public frustration.
"This is sheer negligence by the authorities. They spent lakhs of public money on the installation of these boards. They should take responsibility for maintaining them. This is not smart governance by a smart city of India. The authorities should initiate the restoration work of the smart properties soon," Jagannath Hota, a resident of Acharya Vihar, said.
In response to these concerns, city mayor Sulochana Das assured that the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited is taking steps to address the issue and is in the process of selecting an expert agency. "We have decided to maintain these digital properties with the help of an agency and have recently floated a tender to finalise the process," she added.
Das further said that the agency will be appointed soon to undertake the regular repair and maintenance work of these properties. "We will discuss with the other agencies that installed the boards and highlight the matter with them. Things will be resolved soon," she added.
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