Goa, Sept. 16 -- Just metres from the Kadamba bus stand, one of Panjim's busiest en try points, migrant families with young children are living in makeshift shelters under flyovers, amid dust, open defecation and a lack of basic sanitation - ex posing a stark gap between the government's 'Smart City' pitch and the reality on the ground. The families have set up temporary living spaces on roadside pavements, cook ing, eating and sleeping in the open while taking shelter under the bridge during the monsoon.

Young children are also staying with them, rais ing questions over hygiene, safety and the absence of any visible civic intervention at a key transit point used by thousands of visitors. The contrast is difficult to miss. While the gove...