Several catchy buzzwords have described Modi government’s initiatives over the last seven years. Startup India, Stand Up India, Skill India, the list is long and well-publicised. One such flagship project has been the Smart Cities Mission to set up 100 technologically wired urban centres. Yet as the brutal second wave of coronavirus tears through India, some ‘smart’ cities are turning out to be not-so-smart.
Panjim, Goa is a designated smart city that has seen a jaw-dropping administrative collapse. Small, scenic, a tourist hub set amid busy waterways, it could have been the ideal urban showpiece. But what has happened instead? In the midst of a health emergency public squabbles have broken out between health minister and chief minister, a curfew was Read More
