Govt to build 'Smart City, Smart Village' by 2041
As part of materialising the 'Vision-2041' to transform the country into a developed one, the government has set a target of building 'Smart City' and 'Smart Village' within the period, BSS reports.
Since the present government has successfully implemented the 'Vision 2021' building the 'Digital Bangladesh', it is now working on developing ultramodern power grids, green economy and skills, recognising freelancing as a profession and urban development to build an innovative 'Smart Bangladesh' with a merit-based economy by 2041.
The information was revealed at a high level workshop titled 'Vision-2041: Building Smart City and Smart Village in Bangladesh' Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) auditorium at ICT Tower in the city's Agargaon area on Monday.
Local government, rural development and cooperatives minister Md Tazul Islam addressed the workshop as the chief guest while education minister Dipu Moni, science and technology minister Yeafesh Osman and posts, telecommunications minister Mustafa Jabbar.
Speaking at the function, Tazul said, "We have to deal with many issues to ensure a normal life for people living in cities. The ICT Division has already started working on many issues to provide people friendly services".
For the implementation of the 'Smart City', the master plan should be prepared taking the population living in the specific area into consideration, he added.
Dipu Moni, in his speech, emphasised on changing the mind-set for building a 'Smart Bangladesh' and said, "We have to create a clear canvas of who will work and where will work, and keep coordination among everyone's work".
The government wants to build skilled manpower, who will be science-minded, technology friendly, used to using technology and efficient in innovating technologies, she added.
Science and technology minister Yeafesh Osman said it is possible to win only if hardware, software and human-ware simultaneously integrate each other.
Among those, human-ware or people have to play the prime role otherwise it will not be possible to use the digital tools properly despite having all the technologies, he added.
Mustafa Jabbar said that the digital connectivity will be the next development highway.
"Without this highway, neither the smart city nor the smart technology will be possible to implement. Bangladesh is (however) far ahead in the use of modern technology," he added.
Palak, in his closing remark, said 'Smart Bangladesh' of 2041 will be cost-effective, sustainable, intellectual, knowledge-based and innovative Bangladesh.
The well-thought-out opinions, advice and recommendations of the stakeholders revealed in this workshop organised by the ICT Division will guide the government to prepare the action plan for 'Smart Bangladesh 2041', he added.
Noting that smart healthcare, smart transportation, smart utilities, urban administration, public safety, agriculture, internet connectivity and disaster management should be ensured for implementing the "Smart City and Smart Village' vision, ICT state minister said, "That's why we have to focus on these four technologies: artificial intelligence, robotics, microchip designing and manufacturing and cyber security".
In the workshop, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), vice-chancellor (VC) Satya Prasad Majumder, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) VC Lutful Hassan and other experts in the field took part as the panel discussants.