HIDCO to set up book, coffee shops on desolate stretches in New Town

Kolkata: In a significant stride to transform New Town into a 'truly Happy City', the West Bengal Housing & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) will set up a number of 'interesting shops' like

coffee shops and books and magazine shops, on some relatively desolate stretches.

"Our idea is to give New Town a greater vibrancy and give working women in this area a feeling of a greater sense of security," said Debashis Sen, Additional Chief Secretary, department of Information Technology & Electronics and chairman of HIDCO, at the 'Innovation 2018' organised by CII.

According to Sen, the decision of HIDCO is the result of a set of findings by a research team from IIT-Kharagpur, assigned by HIDCO for studying its happiness index in

March 2017.

Apart from the infrastructure, the IIT-Kharagpur study also took into account the mental aspect of the people, who stay or work in this area. They have found out that the gender sensitivity is "not good" in New Town.

They have reasoned that working women in New Town suffer from a sense of insecurity, particularly when they return home from their workplaces, even though the township offers reasonably good policing and lighting infrastructure.

"We have decided to come up with some interesting shops like coffee, books or magazine shops at

some stretches in New Town Action Area II and III, which will remain open till night. More and more people visiting these shops will give a sense of confidence regarding the security aspect among the women," Sen maintained.

HIDCO has already come up with a coffee shop at Chinar Park, which will open soon. It is also working on a plan to plant more trees in New Town, to reduce pollution as per the IIT study.

"All these are integral parts of innovative city planning, which we are trying to usher in New Town, which is already a smart and clean city," Sen added.

Experts at a recent round table meeting of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on Sustainable Cities in Mumbai had pointed out that such roadside coffee shops contribute in offering a sense of security to women. Sen attended the meeting in Mumbai and spoke of the efforts by HIDCO to convert New Town into a Happy City.

HIDCO has asked IIT Kharagpur's Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness and Ranbir and Chitra Gupta School of Infrastructure Design and Management to help them raise the happiness index of New Town-Rajarhat.