Agra residents surprised as city ranks No.1 in list of smart cities
Agra has topped the list of Smart Cities in India, scoring above cities like Surat and Indore.
Taking residents by surprise, Agra has topped the list of Smart Cities in India, scoring above cities like Surat and Indore.
However, people in the city are not completely convinced and doubt that data have been manipulated. They said that garbage dumps and overflowing drains are one of the first views to welcome tourists as they enter the city.
Local residents claimed that US President Donald Trump's visit may have made Agra the No. 1 smart city in India, but in reality, the city is as dirty as it used to be.
They claimed that the survey results may have pleased the senior officials and other Municipal staffers, but the ordinary city residents feel that data have been manipulated to bring Agra on the top of the list.
Interestingly, Agra is above Ahmedabad in the Ministry of Urban Development's list, while Kanpur ranks third, above Indore and Surat.
A municipal official told India Today that these rankings have been awarded based on the pace of implementation of developmental plans in which Agra has been significantly ahead of the other cities.
It has nothing to do with sanitation, state of roads, etc.
These rankings have been given on the virtue of the work done by Agra Smart City Ltd. is developing an integrated command and control centre, health centre, smart toilets, micro skill centre, laboratories, etc.
Agra mayor Naveen Jain said that the entire credit of making Agra rank no. 1 in the Smart Cities list goes to the Agra Smart city team and the Municipal Commissioner. He said that it will be the effort of the Municipal Corporation to hold this ranking in the years to come.