By Apurva Bhatt
Imagine Wi-Fi services on your laptop, censor street lights, CCTV cameras all around you. A smart city concept is what the BMC plans to make for BKC, the project which is expected to go live by 2017.
The request for the proposal, estimated to cost Rs 20 crore, is likely to be floated by May-end in a fortnight by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority. An MMRDA official cautioned that the consultant's suggestions may differ from what finally comes up at the tendering stage, adding MMRDA will choose the best concept. A senior MMRDA official said, "Visitors can expect free wi-fi on their smart devices for the first 30 minutes and will have to pay around Rs 30 for the next one hour. We feel the network will save at least 10 minutes because of faster connectivity compared to mobile networks."
MMRDA has decided to opt for wi-fi connectivity across BKC instead of hotspots, as it will form the backbone of applications like smart parking, lighting and CCTVs in the first phase of the project. In future, it can include smart meters for utilities, intelligent traffic system, air and water monitoring meters, besides flood sensors. The smart parking technology is expected to reduce unnecessary circling in BKC in search of parking.
According to the feasibility report, around 20 minutes are spent by an average driver in search of parking space. The official said, "Smart parking lots can cut this time to five minutes. Motorists can also book parking space online by paying a fixed amount and pay the balance on arriving in the parking lot. This will also take care of issues like over-charging by parking lot contractors."
Smart street lights are expected to help reduce electricity costs. Currently, there are 841 street lights with 1,325 bulbs of different wattage, for which MMRDA spends Rs 6.5 lakh per month on electricity bills, besides Rs 14.15 lakh on maintenance.
The official said, "The lights will dim when roads are empty and brighten when cars or pedestrians approach." There will be 90 CCTV cameras at all junctions with facial detection features, besides video analytics technology to provide proactive threat detection. A mobile app will help citizens avail of all the services.
