Children to carry out survey for children-friendly smart city

BHUBANESWAR: A group of 25 children has been authorized by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to take a survey in city for developing it into the first children-friendly smart city (CFSC) in India.
Humara Bachpan, a private organization that is promoting safe and healthy environment for children in cities, has selected 20 children, who will take up the survey for eight weeks and submit a report to the BMC on their findings.The survey will find out whether the facilities in parks, community halls, roads, bus stands, railway station, airport and other city centres are children-friendly. They will take note of the requirements, BMC sources said.
“Considering that a city should have equal facilities for the children, we authorized the children group to conduct an audit. The group of children belongs to the slums pockets of the city and they have visited Amsterdam, which is one of the children-friendly smart cities in the world,” said BMC mayor Anant Narayan Jena.
In April, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) signed an MoU with Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF), which will provide funds for the CFSC. Earlier, the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), a Delhi-based autonomous body functioning under Ministry of Urban Development, had given a proposal to the BDA to create a CFSC hub in Bhubaneswar. The NIUA received fund from BvLF, which is working globally on improvement of children, to implement the project.
According to 2011 census, there are 75,237 children below six year of age living in the city. But the infrastructure facilities here are inadequate to cater to the needs of children.
Although officials have planned to make 36 playgrounds and public spaces, which will be children-friendly, the children’s survey is expected to include more facilities in the plan.
National campaign coordinator of Humara Bachpan Damayanti Rout said the objective of the study is to identify the un-friendly practices in public transport, traffic, public buildings and recreation centres. “We will find whether there are ramps and dedicated playing space for the children at parks. The roads should be friendly. We want that the facilities should be implemented properly so that they are brought into practice,” she said.
On an experiment basis, the BMC in April created mini dining tables and chairs and low height wash basins at the Aahar centre, where people are served meal for Rs 5. Since children from poor families go to the facility to avail the affordable meal, the place has been made friendly for the children. The ambience of the centre has also been designed to suit the need of the children. Pictures of Mickey Mouse have been etched on the designer tiles that have been fixed on the walls of the centre.