City to get Wi-Fi hotspots under smart city project

Trichy: The Trichy Corporation will launch public Wi-Fi hotspots across the city as part of the smart city programme in order to bridge the digital divide and to encourage residents in using information and communication technology (ICT) enabled services, including digital grievance redressal platforms. The civic body is now undertaking preliminary studies to identify suitable hotspot locations covering all 65 wards.
Addressing an interactive session between the corporation and residents welfare associations (RWAs) here on Saturday, commissioner N Ravichandran said, “Soon, the entire city will be covered under Wi-Fi hotspots through which people can utilise the internet service free of cost for the first 30 minutes. After the free usage, user will be charged.”

It is said that the Wi-Fi service will be established as a part of smart city mission to encourage residents to connect with the civic body for registering complaints as well as to serve as an amenity for tourists visiting the city. “There will a smart pole in which a LED light, Wi-Fi router and a CCTV will come as a set. The routers will be placed in such a manner that the entire city would get public internet service,” the commissioner told TOI.

Representatives of RWAs were explained about the zero wet waste initiative of the civic body aimed at encouraging residents to recycle biodegradable waste either as biofertilizer or biogas. The initiative would reward residents with Rs 1,000 worth gift voucher from a private textile unit here if the house was found recycling wet waste by self instead of handing over them to corporation.

“We have planned to host an exhibition showcasing the possible methods to recycle the domestic waste and produce energy from them. It will help residents and bulk waste generators to identify suitable and affordable model for recycling the waste,” the commissioner added. Seeking the residents to support the innovative efforts of the corporation in making Trichy a model city in solid waste management (SWM) practices, the civic body asserted that erring residents will be penalised if they are not compliant towards source segregation and other waste management practices.

Meanwhile, the much-awaited phase II of underground drainage system (UGDS) covering 25 wards of the city would commence on Sunday. With only 40% of the city covered under UGDS, phase II coming up at an estimated cost of Rs 344 crore would cover Viswas Nagar, Kattur, and Ariyamangalam.

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