Warangal to turn into children-friendly city

Warangal: In what is termed as a huge development that aims at scaling up safe, accessible, green, playful and inclusive neighbourhoods for young children and families in Warangal city, the Greater Warangal Smart City Corporation Limited (GWSCCL) signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Resources Institute India (WRI India), on Friday.

In January 2022, the city of Warangal was announced as one of the 10 winners of the Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge (NNC) hosted by the Smart Cities Mission of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in collaboration with the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF) and with WRI India as the technical partner. The challenge aims to support city agencies and their partners to adopt an early childhood development focus in the design, planning, and management of cities.

By mainstreaming this lens in projects and long-term plans, cities will target improvements to public spaces, mobility, neighbourhood planning, access to services, and data management to enhance the health and wellbeing of young children and their caregivers. Warangal, along with other selected cities, is now proceeding into the second phase of the challenge, which involves scaling up interventions over the next two years.

The GWSCCL and Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) recently converted two dump yards into vibrant community parks at Christian Colony and MH Nagar slum and were awarded by the Smart Cities Mission as model place making projects under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The city plans to replicate such interventions as part of their Nurturing Neighbourhoods scale-up plan to improve access to green open spaces for young children in vulnerable areas. GWSCCL also plans to develop a programme for creating pocket play spaces equipped with supportive amenities for caregivers adjacent to anganwadis and schools.

Recognising the importance of exposure to nature and biodiversity for the healthy development of young children as complementary to the city's sustainable urban development agenda, Warangal's scale up plan will include a greening strategy to incorporate climate-resilient urban design in public places, including three major upcoming lakefront projects. Steps are being taken to form a dedicated cell including urban planners, corporation engineers, and representatives of the Women and Child Welfare Department to guide and operationalise the scale-up plan.

The MoU was signed by Commissioner, GWMC& CEO, GWSCCL P Pravinya in the presence of Mayor Gundu Sudharani, Superintendent Engineer Chiliveri Satyanarayana and members of the WRI India team. WRI India, with the support of BvLF, will provide the city of Warangal with technical assistance and capacity building towards implementing the Nurturing Neighbourhoods scale-up objectives.

Pravinya said, "Warangal has been an active participant in NNC and is proud to be among the top 10 cities. We are committed to scaling up the pilot phase initiatives across the city over next two years with a focus on improving the quality of life of infants, toddlers and their caregivers."

Sudharani said, "Warangal is taking up various projects to make the city conducive to the health and well-being of young children since they are our future. We are also planning for urban greening of Warangal city as an effort to enhance the resilience of the city towards climate change. I believe that climate resilient and nurturing neighbourhoods will go a long way towards an enriching and resilient future."