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The use of an image showing Delhi’s India Gate on a poster declaring Aurangabad as the ‘City of Gates’ has left authorities red-faced.
The poster was the brainchild of the ‘War Room’ that was set up by the local civic body to push the local Smart City mission. The poster was spotted near the establishment’s entrance.
Incidentally, the War Room is located in the premises of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Research Centre, which has seen several visits from the city’s top brass. Recently, IAS officer Sunil Porwal even held a review meeting after taking over as the “mentor” for the Smart City Mission for Aurangabad. He was joined by several other top officials.
Many are now wondering how none of them were able to spot the gaffe.
The poster had six tourist attractions on one side – Bibi-Ka-Maqbara, Panchakki, Soneri Mahal, Siddharth Garden, Shivaji Museum and the Salim Ali Lake. The entire other half was occupied by the wrong image.
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Ajay Kulkarni, convener of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Aurangabad chapter, said the goof-up only revealed how out of touch officials were with the history of Aurangabad.
“This goof-up explains why local heritage is either in bad shape or in ruins. The poster must be corrected to avoid further embarrassment,” he said.
Historian Dulari Qureshi said gates from the city such as the Delhi Gate, Makai Gate or Rohan Gate should have figured on the poster.
Aurangabad has been historically referred to as the city of 52 gates. Each of these gates has its own story to tell.
Smart City website down
The website meant to promote the city’s elevation into the Centre’s Smart City Mission initiative has become non-operational. The website— aurangabadsmartcity.co.in— was launched after the announcement of the Smart City Mission for developing necessary proposal by garnering public feedback.
Yogesh More, a competent authority of the firm which developed and managed the website said the online platform was handed over to the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) recently.
The local civic body has attracted sharp criticism over the defunct website.
AMC deputy engineer S P Khanna said the issue will be brought to the notice of the civic body’s IT team.
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