By Prof. Dr. P. K. Jena*, Bhubanewar, June 24, 2016 : It is a challenge before authorities to make Bhubaneswar – the capital of Odisha, is crowded with garbage, over flowing sewage, stray dogs, cows and bulls to a Smart City.

During this monsoon of 2015, after a heavy shower the storm water accumulates in many parts of Bhubaneswar to knee deep which freely flows into many houses in different residential areas. Except a few main streets, most of the interior roads are filled with garbage. A recent incident of a child being swept away by the storm water in an open drain and his dead body being found about 200 metres away of the incident, is alarming.

The Gangua Nala which was once a beautiful fresh water body is now the main sewage line of the city which finally pollutes the clean water of river Daya. The patches of slums in several areas of the city add more to the filthy and unhygienic living of the people. The free strolling of cows, bulls and dogs and random location of cowsheds add more to the unsafe and unhygienic environment of Bhubaneswar.

The contaminated drinking water flowing through the dilapidated old water pipes causes various water borne diseases in many areas of Bhubaneswar. The frequent disruption of electric supply to different areas of this busy city not only brings down the efficiency of the workers in different organizations but also causes a lot of inconvenience to the people living in the city.

Recently, Bhubaneswar has been selected to be one of the ninety eight “Smart City” in India. Now the authorities should grab this opportunity to modernize Bhubaneswar, so that, the polluted and chaos atmosphere of the city is rectified and it assumes a clean and beautiful appearance.

In order to make this famous temple city a suitable capital of the state and the proposed ‘Smart City’, it is essential to solve the above mentioned problems in an effective manner by suitably infusing modern science and technology. Some of such programmes are as follows:
A) The people in the residential and commercial areas should be
motivated to keep their organic wastes separate from other recyclable wastes like broken glasses, plastics and metal scraps. While the organic wastes can be collected systematically by the municipal authority, arrangement should be made to collect the recyclable wastes by payment of a nominal amount so that, the concerned people / organizations will be interested to follow this system. The municipal authority should store and process the organic wastes for producing compost and biogas through anaerobic treatment. The recyclable wastes should be sold to the respective industries for recycling.
B) The sewage water including human excreta should similarly be processed at suitable sites away from the city and produce organic manures and biogas. The treated clean water from the sewage can be utilized for watering the trees in the public parks and dedusting the streets of Bhubaneswar.
C) Daya and Kuakhai rivers as well as Ganguanala should be kept away from solid wastes and the sewage water so that water after proper treatment can be supplied to the people in the city for drinking and other domestic purposes without any contamination. This will avoid the water borne diseases by which the people living in Bhubaneswar are being affected in recent periods.
D) More numbers of wetlands should be developed inside and the outskirts of Bhubaneswar for rain water harvesting in order to further increase the fresh water resources both on the surface and in the ground and also to develop fish production and horticulture in the nearby areas.
E) Large number of trees should be planted on both sides of the roads instead of cementing all over as it has been and is being done in many places of the city. The barren and open areas belonging to the government should be converted into parks with massive plantation of trees etc. to increase the beauty and improve the environment of the city.
F) The slum dwellers at present in different parts of the city should be rehabilitated at suitable sites and should be facilitated to have a clean living from all respects.
G) As the OMFED and a few other companies have the capacity to supply the required pasteurized milk for almost all the people in Bhubaneswar, the cows and cowsheds which are distributed all over the city, and creating a lot of nuisance, should be removed and may be allowed to settle at a suitable place away from the city. They can be assisted to supply raw milk to OMFED and other units for pasteurization, so that, all the people of Bhubaneswar will be privileged to have pasteurized milk and milk products.
H) The public transport systems should be more organized and adequate law and order should be enforced so that people can move safely in any part of the city during the day and night.
I) The electricity supply to various areas in the city should be streamlined so that the annoying frequent interruptions of electricity can be avoided. This will also help in increasing the productivity of the people living in Bhubaneswar as well as the government, commercial and educational organizations.
J) The road side open restaurants and the fast food sold on movable trolleys (KIOSK) which are generally contaminated with dust, flies etc., should not be allowed in any part of the city.

By implementing the above programmes from the funds available in the state along with that which will be received from the centre and constantly monitoring the proper execution and functioning of the facilities, Bhubaneswar can achieve a ‘Smart City’ status. In this regard, a close collaboration of the people of Bhubaneswar with the authorities and undertaking related awareness programmes will go a long way to make the city a clean and beautiful smart one. As a result, the people in the city can lead an environment friendly pleasant and healthy life and more tourists can be attracted to visit this temple city.

(Dr Jena is the former Director General, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Govt of India)