What London can learn from Indore; here's what Deputy Mayor said

London Deputy Mayor Rajesh Agrawal on Thursday said the capital of the United Kingdom can learn jan bhagidari (people’s participation) from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, which has been voted the cleanest city in India six times in a row in the Union government’s Swachh Surverkshan initiative.

Talking to reporters in Gandhinagar, Agrawal, who was born in Indore and moved to London nearly two decades ago, also stressed on the need to keep investing in transport infrastructure and encouraging people to use them instead of their own cars.

“It was people’s participation which helped Indore become the cleanest city in India. It takes time to change people’s mindset. But, it was phenomenal how the mindset of the entire population changed in such a short period,” he said.

Also read: How Indore has emerged as India’s cleanest city — sixth time in a row

“Indore’s case proves we can achieve anything if people join hands to change something. London can definitely learn how goals can be achieved through jan bhagidari,” said Agrawal, who is in Gujarat to attend the Urban20 or U20 mayoral summit on July 7 and 8 as part of India’s G20 presidency.

When asked about what Indian cities can learn from London, he said, “London’s bus network is outstanding. In addition to London’s overground as well as underground railway network, some areas of the city have trams.”

Asserting that widening roads is not the solution to traffic jams in cities, he said, “Since London is an old city, widening of roads cannot be a solution to every problem. Because there is a limit to it. How many cars will you accommodate? Instead of widening roads, we need to reduce the number of cars on roads.”

Also read: Indore is India’s cleanest city; Surat, Vijayawada ranked second and third

London’s train network, known as the Tube, is the world’s oldest underground railway network and we are still investing in it, he said, adding that a new railway line, called Elizabeth Line, has been launched recently at an investment of Rs 2 lakh crore.

“We should keep investing in infrastructure. To encourage people to give up commuting using their cars, we have created bicycle lanes. During the last seven years, the overall length of these bicycle lanes has increased threefold. We have increased investment in public transport significantly,” he said.

Agrawal said he wants more and more Indian companies to come to London and use the city as their base for global expansion.

Also read: Indore, Lucknow, Hyderabad have most ‘good’ drivers, says survey; find your city’s rank

“India was the fourth largest investor in London seven years ago when I first became the deputy Mayor. Now, India is the largest investor in London. Indian companies are expanding globally now and they are using London as a hub. We want more and more Indian companies to come to London and use it as their base for global expansion” he said.