Digital kiosks gather rust; facility victim of poor upkeep, say Amritsar residents

With unusable screens and services inaccessible, tourists say the digital facility had failed to do any good.

The "Explore Amritsar" kiosks were introduced as part of a pilot project by Amritsar Smart City Limited (ASCL) in 2022. The plan envisaged kiosks in 20 locations, including the War Memorial, Partition Museum, Jallianwala Bagh, Golden Temple Plaza, Gobindgarh Fort, Lawrence Road and the bus stand.

As per the original plan, the kiosks were to provide information about tourist attractions, transport, hotels, bookings and emergency services.

They were designed to offer location-based information, driving directions and details of bus, train and BRTS schedules. Facilities such as panic buttons and grievance registration were also envisaged.

However, the condition of the kiosks has highlighted the gap between the promises made at the time of installation and their functioning on the ground.

“This was supposed to be a useful facility for tourists, especially those visiting the city for the first time. Keeping such a kiosk closed for months for want of maintenance shows the authorities in poor light," said Ramesh Kumar, a resident who frequently visits Lawrence Road.

Another resident said the authorities should either restore the facilities or remove them. “If the machines are not being used, they become an eyesore and give a poor impression to visitors. Public money should not be spent on infrastructure that is allowed to become defunct,” another resident Jeevan Kumar said.

The issue is not new. Earlier too, it was reported in these columns that most tourist kiosks installed under the project had become non-functional, with several screens blank and some units affected by dust, scratches and exposed wiring. Officials had then attributed the problem to maintenance issues and technical faults.

Residents want the authorities to conduct a review of all kiosks and make the functional ones operational. “It would be better if someone takes notice of the issue and orders a review of all kiosks that were installed. In our city, a large number of facilities meet the same fate," Harmanpreet Singh, a schoolteacher, said.

Digital kiosks gather rust, facility of no use, say locals

Installed in 20 locationsThe "Explore Amritsar" kiosks were introduced as part of a pilot project by Amritsar Smart City Limited (ASCL) in 2022. The plan envisaged kiosks in 20 locations, including the War Memorial, Partition Museum, Jallianwala Bagh, Golden Temple Plaza, Gobindgarh Fort, Lawrence Road and the bus stand.

As per the original plan, the kiosks were to provide information about tourist attractions, transport, hotels, bookings and emergency services.

They were designed to offer location-based information, driving directions and details of bus, train and BRTS schedules. Facilities such as panic buttons and grievance registration were also envisaged.

However, the condition of the kiosks has highlighted the gap between the promises made at the time of installation and their functioning on the ground.