New Delhi: Against the backdrop of an ongoing battle against COVID-19 pandemic, India's smart cities have adopted its smart technologies to deal with the issue. Cities like Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharastra), Mangaluru (Karnataka), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Gandhinagar (Gujarat), Kota (Rajasthan) and New Town Kolkata (West Bengal) have come forward to show the way.
Officials in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said that smart cities are ensuring collaborated efforts of district administration, district police and city administration to monitor the suspected cases of COVID-19.
"Leveraging the smart infrastructure, cities are developing predictive analytics using heat maps and taking action in monitoring the movements (using geofencing) as well as the periodic health status of suspected cases," officials said.
Making maximum use of technology, smart cities are collaborating with medical practitioners (certified doctors and health experts) in the city to provide online medical consultation facilities to citizens. The telemedicine guidelines have been issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with Niti Aayog and Indian Medical Council which allows remote delivery of medical services during the lockdown period.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has identified cities like Bhopal, Kanpur, Nagpur, Mangaluru, Chennai, Gandhinagar, Kota and New Town Kolkata which are leveraging technology for its smart use.
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In Bhopal, the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) is being used as a helpline and Tele counselling centre for citizens. Integrated with 104, toll-free numbers of ICCC, the station operators at ICCC are trained to attend calls. Medical officers are stationed at ICCC in different shifts to assist during any situation.
Cities like Ujjain, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Satna and Sagar in Madhya Pradesh are also leveraging technology to fight against COVID-19. In Gandhinagar, the health team (expert doctors) suggest initial steps and precautions to the home quarantine for suspicious patients through video conference only.
"Contact numbers of grocery stores for all sectors of Gandhinagar have been distributed to the citizens of the city through Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation's website, " officials said.
It may be mentioned here that Smart City Mission was conceptualized in 2015 by Narendra Modi government to make Indian cities smart. As of now, 100 cities across India have been selected as smart cities and accordingly works are going on to make the cities smart with the use of latest technology in all sectors. end.
