SILCHAR, April 26 - Even as Silchar, the second biggest urban sprawl in North East is not in the list of the much-hyped �Smart Cities� as envisioned by the Modi Government, dreams are not shattered as yet. The youngsters of the city still believe, with positive efforts, Silchar can be developed into a sustainably smart place to live.
Daisy Pathak, Rummana Akhter and Shubhadeep Purkayastha, students of class X at the Daffodils School here imagine a city which has all the necessary facilities, good transport, technology, connectivity, roof top gardening, farm scrappers, developed infrastructure and other essentials. And shaping their imagination in the form of a model sustainable city, the students have earned laurels for the State winning the second prize in the National Science Project Challenge held in Mumbai recently. It may be mentioned that these students were among the six schools from across India selected for the final round of the contest.
Sharing their experiences with this correspondent, Daisy said, �it was a challenge for us to prepare the model. We took three days to give our idea a concrete shape. While assembling the materials, weather posed a serious threat. But in the end we are happy we could perform and make our school and our State proud.�
Elaborating on their dream project, Rummana and Daisy said that thrust was laid on using economical and renewable energy, community aided agro-products, recycling water and wastes and planting trees to reduce pollution level. Asked whether they would like to see their imagined project practically implemented, the students were unanimous of the fact that most cities in India are preparing to become sustainable cities.
But Silchar is yet to develop. If the mission of sustainability is to be achieved, the mindset of the people towards judicious use of the available resources need to change and also the governance must complement the approach. �Our roads and transport system need and immediate facelift,� feel the students. On the other hand, Subrata Dey, principal of the school and Babi Dutta Dey, the vice-principal together with Kalpana Pathak, the teacher who accompanied the students congratulated the students on their achievement.
