UNB, Dhaka

Dhaka North City Mayor Annisul Huq on Monday said they are in the process of making Dhaka a ‘smart city’ overcoming ‘multifaceted challenges’ so that people feel safe and have a hassle-free life. “The whole city will come under complete communication network in five years’ time and we’ll be able to monitor everything from our rooms,” he said. The Mayor was addressing a seminar titled ‘Smart City by Sweden’ at a city hotel with Swedish Ambassador in Dhaka Johan Frisell in the chair.
Describing the difficulties he faced so far in his drive to transform the city, Huq said he has made some commitments which remained ‘impossible’ for decades but things are changing now. “The reason is the government (now) wants, the Prime Minister (Sheik Hasina) wants, she (PM) wants a smart city…she wants a developed city,” said the Mayor.
A smart city is a city where people feel safe. A smart city is defined as the ability to integrate multiple technological solutions in a secure fashion to manage the city’s assets – the city’s assets include, but not limited to, local departments information systems, schools, libraries, transportation systems, hospitals, power plants, law enforcement, waste management and others. He mentioned that they are committed to building a smart city and the entire Dhaka city should be totally connected.