Shillong, Sep. 19: A grand finale of the Shillong Hackathon 2017 under the theme Clean and Liveable City was held today at Yojana Bhavan Auditorium, Shillong. Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya, Shri H. Marwein graced the inaugural programme as Chief Guest.
The main objective of the event is to find a proper solution to make Shillong city clean. Under the Hackathon, ideas and corresponding solutions were being solicited from citizens to resolve the given problem statements as submitted by the various departments/agencies.
Addressing the inaugural function, Shri H. Marwein said that IT solutions can be an effective mechanism to address the various problems which has plagued the city in recent times. Highlighting how technology has changed over the years and how it has brought people together by new innovations, the Additional Chief Secretary also said that technological ideas and innovations can be solution to solve all the problems. He hoped that this Hackathon can harness the technological solutions that are being brought out by the participants which can subsequently be adopted by the Government in a more meaningful way.
Commissioner & Secretary, Urban Affairs Department, Shri F. R. Kharkongor in his brief address said that the main idea behind Hackathon is to give a platform for the young minds through technology know-how and innovations and to engage them in finding a permanent solution to the issues that Shillong city is facing. He also said that to get the best out of the event, “3 Es”- Engagement, Expression and Empowerment is being utilized , while also adding that it is the first G2C ( Government to Citizen) service where young minds are being engaged for the cause. He also said that out of the total entries received, 60% relates to the traffic management and the rest relates to urban management like garbage waste disposal, automatic tracking of garbage etc. He also hoped that this Hackathon will provide the much needed solutions to all these problems.
Director, Urban Affairs Department, Shri E. Kharmalki, Senior TD & SIO, NIC Meghalaya and Chairman IEI, Shri Timothy Dkhar and Environmental Engineer, MSPCB, Shri W. Kharkrang also spoke at the inaugural function.