On Wednesday,8th January 2025, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), in collaboration with I for Humanity Foundation, through its flagship scheme-Smart Cities Mission launched ‘ACCESSIBLE CITIES’ initiative.
The initiative aims to promote and assure the development of accessible and inclusive cities for diverse user groups, which also includes the elderly, persons with Specially Abilities, Women, and children over the coming years.
Out of 100 smart cities,10 smart cities have been selected for the ‘Accessible Cities’, and Belagavi being one of them. For the selection, Belagavi Smart City Limited (BSCL) submitted a proposal in August/September of the year 2024, which covers the work taken by BSCL as part of its efforts.
The work includes various initiatives, for example, Mahatma Gandhi Phule Garden for Specially Abled Children, along with other gender equality projects, for which the efforts of Belagavi Smart City Limited (BSCL), has won the prestigious United Nations-Smart Solution & Inclusive Cities award.
The ‘Accessible Cities’ initiative will be instrumental in enhancing the quality of life of persons with disabilities to live a better life.
Additionally, initiatives such as ‘Accessible Hospitality’ ‘Accessible Banking’ and ‘Accessible Elevators’ have been launched to guide the hospitality industry banking institutions, and elevator manufacturers in incorporating universal guidelines in hotels, ATMs, bank branches and elevators.
In the initial phase of the scheme,10 cities have been shortlisted for the program, including Chandigarh, Sagar, Satna, Jabalpur, Dehradun, Belagavi, Pune, Raipur, Lucknow, and Varanasi.
Shri Tokhan Sahu, Honourable Minister of State, appreciated the ‘Accessible Cities’ initiatives and motivated the dignitaries and participants present in the program to pledge their commitment to implement universal design and standards in all the projects and urged everyone to make sincere efforts and to make our nation inclusive and accessible.
Furthermore, Shri Sahu stated that these initiatives are aligned with India’s ‘Accessible India Campaign’ ( Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan),launched by the Prime Minister ,underscoring the governments dedication to promoting accessibility across the country.