On Wednesday, 8th January, 2025, The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), and I for Humanity Foundation, through its flagship scheme- Smart Cities Mission launched ‘Accessible Cities’ initiatives for the development of accessible and inclusive cities for diverse user groups, including the elderly, persons with Specially Abilities, women, and children in the coming years.
Out of 100 smart cities, 10 smart cities have been selected for this ‘Accessible Cities’ initiative, and Belagavi is among of them. For the selection, Belagavi Smart City Limited (BSCL) submitted a proposal in Aug/Sept- 2024 covering the work taken by BSCL.
The work consists of various gardens, for example, Mahatma Phule Garden for Specially Abled Children, and other gender equality projects for which BSCL has won the United Nations – Smart Solution & Inclusive Cities award.
‘Accessible Cities’ initiative will be instrumental in enabling persons with disabilities to live a better life. Also, ‘Accessible Hospitality’, ‘Accessible Banking’ and ‘Accessible Elevators’ initiatives were launched to guide the hospitality industry, banking institutions, and elevator manufacturers in incorporating universal guidelines in hotels, bank branches and ATMs and elevators.In the initial phase, 10 cities have been shortlisted including- Chandigarh, Sagar, Satna, Jabalpur, Dehradun, Belagavi, Pune, Raipur, Lucknow and Varanasi.
Hon’ble Minister of State, Shri Tokhan Sahu appreciated the initiatives and motivated dignitaries and participants present in the program to pledge to implement universal design and standards in all the projects and make sincere efforts to make our country inclusive and accessible. He also stated that these initiatives are aligned with India’s ‘Accessible India Campaign’ (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan), which was launched by the Prime Minister.