Let me put it this way: one capital city has a lake and the
other has a river, now which one will fast transform itself into Singaporesque
skyline? The fascination of the chief ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
for vertically developed glitzy cities, bordered by seas and oceans is really
astounding.
So, where is the next Singapore-or-Tokyo-like-capital going
to be? In Hyderabad or in Vijayawada or both? And
how many districts will get converted to smart cities - a term that is getting interpreted in different ways for different reasons. This is really reaching cutthroat dimensions – the pace at which both the
states trying to outdo the other, incredible indeed!
Of late, this seems to be the major concern, cause and a
competitive differentiator for establishing the identity of Telangana and
Andhra Pradesh. Besides being a lopsided vision, why
this obsession with Singapore or Dubai or Tokyo or even Shanghai? Well, these
cities may have set global benchmarks in urban living and architecture but
where is the need to copy or replicate them? Don't we have any originality of
ours? Why can't our political leaders come up with some innovative ideas to
develop the capital cities that can bring a unique identity, keeping in mind
the history, culture and environment? So, what if Burj Khalifa was built on sea and sand, why should it be re-built on the sandy soils of the river Krishna? Or,
why can’t we beautify Sanjivaiah Park to make it greener rather than dot it
with concrete structures all around? These are difficult questions to explore when
the notion of development and growth are already defined and confined to the
idea of erecting new concrete structures, be it at the cost of environmental
risks and other hazards.
Imagine the world's tallest building on the banks of Hussain
Sagar and other skyscrapers crowding the poor old Buddha statue...don’t be
surprised if he’s replaced with a merlion-like creature for that complete
Singaporesque experience! By the way, the Buddha statue is supposed to be the world's tallest monolithic in granite and quite a landmark that never got it’s due.
Turns out that some chief ministers of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh had their own
peculiar vision for Hyderabad - particularly the NTR days when the Buddha Purnima
project was taking shape. Then, later, the Necklace Road, a la Marine Drive in
Mumbai. And now, the world's tallest tower in the same place. Poor old lake! Forget about
environmental implications and all that stuff, anyways the lake is already
ruined by idol immersions thanks to the good-enough-number of festivals we
have. What about the supporting infrastructure for that tallest tower – power, roads, sewerage
and so on.
The fascination for tall buildings as a touristic attraction
may hold good. But such structures can come up in other parts of the city as
well. Why should they be next to Hussain Sagar? I really wonder what these tall
buildings will house in them? Already so many office and shopping spaces are lying unoccupied
in prime business areas. Anyways, the theory could be: we will build and they
will come...the investors, I mean. Or, tourists? Only time can tell.
Doesn’t this de-focus other key and pressing issues that should
have been prioritized? What about other districts that need all the attention? I wish there was some
thought and action on balanced vision for all the districts in both the states - post bifurcation. Did someone say why such a hurry
with all these huge construction projects, particularly in state capitals?
Well, for obvious reasons, that’s not within the scope of this blog!
*At the time of writing this blog Vijayawada is designated to be the capital
city of Andhra Pradesh.
No comments:
Post a Comment