As a pilot project, 33 crores of Taka were transacted in DNCC Smart Haat for the first time in the channels of various banks and financial service providers, said North City Mayor. In addition to bringing rickshaws under digital management, the mayor said that all the previously unregistered rickshaws will be removed and 2 lakh rickshaws with new QR codes will be registered.
Mayor Atiqul Islam conveyed this information at the report announcement ceremony of ‘Smart Haat, Smart Bangladesh’ at DNCC’s Nagar Bhaban in Gulshan on Wednesday (August 3).
He said that 28,000 rickshaw licenses were given in Dhaka city. But now more than ten lakh rickshaws are running. There is no order on the roads due to these rickshaws plying across the city. They have no database. So, rickshaws will be brought under QR code by DNCC.
DNCC Mayor further said, there is no account of how so many rickshaws came to the capital. No database, no discipline, no accountability. So, to restore order on the roads we initially plan to launch 2 lakh rickshaws with QR code. The rickshaws which are currently plying on the road will be closed. Then only QR coded rickshaws will ply on the road. We believe that a system will be developed as a result. Anytime, you can scan the QR code and can understand – where is that rickshaw from, who is the owner, where is the garage, and so on. That is, all the information of a rickshaw can be found through this QR code.
Referring to how to increase the scope of digital haat in the future, the mayor said that not only transactions will be done easily, but people will be able to transact huge sums of money safely. The cattle market of Gabtali will also be brought under the purview of digital transactions. People will benefit from it.
Atiqul Islam said, Gabtali is a permanent animal market for us. Here animals are bought and sold throughout the year. Traders bring animals from different parts of the country. So we want to make it smart and we won’t take much time to do it. When a farmer comes to the city with his animals, they actually suffer a lot. He also has the thought of selling the animals and returning home safely with the money. We are providing this digital transaction, so that a farmer can go safely with money on the go. As a result, farmers no longer have to carry cash.
Announcing that DNCC is working on Smart City, the mayor said, if you see open manholes, dirt on footpaths, waterlogging and other problems, take a picture and upload it to the ‘Shobar Dhaka’ app. We promise to resolve it within 24 hours. Besides, smart LED lights are widely used in our work to save electricity. By dimming the lights, we are saving 50 percent electricity from 8:00-12:00 AM and 65 percent from 12:00-4:00 AM. We are working in various ways to save electricity.
Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank Khurshid Alam, Shah Ziaul Haque, Head of Mastercard Bangladesh Syed Mohammad Kamal, senior officials of six banks participating in Smart Haat, representatives of associated institutions including bKash, VisaCard, lessees of six digital animal haats, councilors and senior officials of DNCC were present in the event.