The Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir has launched a series of smart city projects for the city of Srinagar, the summer capital of the state.

Inaugurating the projects, Manoj Sinha, Lt Governor of the State, said the aim of the Srinagar smart city projects is to enhance the city’s liveability and to ensure that development is sustainable and inclusive. According to Sinha, new interventions will strengthen core urban infrastructure and integrate technological tools for a clean and sustainable environment.

The Srinagar smart city projects include: a real-time water quality monitoring system for River Jhelum and Dal lake; real-time noise monitoring stations and systems for Srinagar City; integrated solid waste management and a door to door collection monitoring system to improve city management.

A smart grid system will be constructed and urban digital transformation will aim to tackle the challenges of climate change in Srinagar, connect all infrastructure and to provide innovative solutions for better coordination between services.

A number of web and smartphone portals and apps will be launched, including the My Srinagar Portal and App, initiatives such as “SMC Srinagar new Web Portal”, “My City My Ideas”, aiming to improve the quality of services and strengthen the contact between citizens and the city administration.

Sinha also inaugurated the Srinagar Data Network project under the Srinagar Smart City programme, which aims to make Srinagar a connected city, foster smart governance for well-being of residents. The Srinagar Data Network (SD-Net) is a 175 Km underground fibre optic intranet that underpins the Srinagar smart city initiative.