GUWAHATI, Nov 21 - The Carmel city in Indiana, United States, is trying to develop itself in such a manner that it produces less carbon. Therefore, it is also emphasising the greater use of solar power. One among three cars in this city is a hybrid one, said the Mayor of Carmel, Indiana, James Brainard. He was talking to reporters here on Thursday.
Brainard, the first five-term Mayor of Carmel, said that while planning a city, the need to keep the atmosphere cool must be kept in mind so as to make the use of personal air conditioners redundant. He also pointed out that the cities in the United States have their own planning departments to look after revenue, formulate building norms, etc.
Taking the climate change phenomenon into consideration, Carmel is also concentrating on finding ways to tackle the problem of flood. As Carmel is getting more rains, it has to store the stormwater.
On what should be the thrust areas for a city, he said water, sewage management, roads and schools should be on the priority list, besides better planning to make the living conditions safer.
On the issue of sewage management, he said in the 1930s and 1940s, the greater amount of the city sewage in the United States was released into water bodies like lakes and rivers. But in the 1960s, when Nixon was the President, efforts were made to bring an end to this practice.
It was a challenge for the city authorities in the United States to make their lakes and other water bodies free from sewage so that the cities emerge cleaner, said the Mayor, who was in the city on a daylong sojourn to talk to business leaders, government officials, academics and journalists on issues concerning infrastructure funding, use of technology to improve quality of life and cut back on carbon emissions. He informed that from 40 acres of parkland, Carmel, has now been developed into 1,000 acres of parkland.
Carmel, which was a small village about 20 years back, has now developed itself into a business city with the combination of IT, insurance, medicine, hospitals and real estate business on a 50-square mile area. It now has a population of 1,00,000.
Carmel has now developed 175 miles of roads for bicycle riders and at places, it has narrowed down motorable portions of roads to make them convenient for walkers, said the Mayor.
In the United States, all city mayors meet twice a year, while they meet on several occasions within a year in their respective states, said the Mayor.
Brainard has been elected the Mayor of Carmel, Indiana, for the sixth term consecutively and for the past 20 years, he has been the Mayor of this US city.
He has been appointed to the Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience by President Barack Obama. This task force has been set up by the President to advise the administration on how the federal government can respond to the needs of communities nationwide that are dealing with the impact of climate change.
According to Kolkata-based US Consulate media coordinator Ipshita Nandi Banerjee, Carmel has experienced tremendous growth and prosperity under James Brainard�s stewardship and it is considered one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. He shared the best practices on the role of local government and national government in building smart cities to combat the ills of climate change.
He also addressed a function organised by the Guwahati chapter of the Indian Chamber of Commerce on Thursday on promoting business partnerships between the Northeastern States of India and the United States.
