Lucknow: A host of urban development technologies on display at IGP

Shridhar of Coimbatore has come up with a technology to make eco-friendly, disposable bags using corn and vegetable starch. These fully biodegradable bags have the capacity to carry 8kg load at a time.

Shridhar is in Lucknow to display his bags at the exhibition that opened at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan on Friday to celebrate the third anniversary of PMAY, AMRUT and the Smart Cities Mission. It was inaugurated by union minister of housing and urban development Hardeep Singh Puri and will go on for another two days.

“We can replace plastic bags with these eco-friendly bags. They will get destroyed without causing any harm to the environment,” Shridhar said, adding that the cost per bag was around ₹3, but it could be brought down with “mass production and government subsidy”.  

Around 50 stalls are displaying innovative techniques of urban development at the exhibition.

A delegation from Tirupati Municipal Corporation has set up a stall to showcase their efforts of rejuvenating the Vinayak Sagar lake.

“Besides, Tirutpati temple, our city has the Vinayak Sagar lake, which has been rejuvenated. We have displayed the model that shows how it was done. Ours is a city where over 7 lakh devotees come for ‘darshan’. The solid waste management there is excellent,” said a member of the team. 

The delegation from Jharkhand is displaying their model of ‘izzat ghar’, which focuses on making public toilets sustainable. Team representatives said the ‘Jharkhand model’ had been very successful. “That’s why, these toilets are the cleanest,” he said. 

Urban development minister Suresh Khanna said that UP would not hesitate to adopt any good technology on display. “The government will promote any technology that is beneficial for the state,” he said. 

He said efforts were on to make all cities of Uttar Pradesh among the best in the country. “This programme will go a long way in creating a base for that,” said the minister.