Bhubaneswar can set examples for others: Smart City Fellows

Bhubaneswar: Three Smart City Fellows are in the capital city of Odisha to study various projects under the Smart City Mission.

They are of the opinion that with participatory, inclusive and child-friendly initiatives the city could set examples for others to follow.

While the Smart City Fellows are gathering knowledge through their studies on various projects, they would also be giving their suggestions to the authorities of Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) on various public space projects.

The Smart City Fellows of the Smart City Mission under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) are from fields like Urban Planning, Urban Design, Engineering Information and Technology, Urban Mobility, Finance, Social Sector and Environmental issues.

Smart City Fellows in batches are travelling across the 100 Smart Cities to gather experiences and knowledge on the various projects adopted by respective cities.

The three fellows Subhashweti  Sinha, Mansi Naidu and Kirti Kawale are currently in Bhubaneswar. Mentored by Prof K. T. Ravindran, the Smart Fellows to BSCL are looking especially after public spaces and how these are the keys to enable a good quality of life and improve liveability.

Kirti Kawale, an urban designer, said, “As a small city Bhubaneswar Smart City has taken the right steps in a creative way to use the public spaces and helped the citizens to be part of the new experience through the projects. The idea of inclusiveness adopted in the project is also nice and it could guide other cities in planning their future urban interventions.”

Mansi Naidu, an electronics and communication engineering expert, said, “The child-friendly concept of the Bhubaneswar Smart City proposal was unique. One design concept, which is suitable for children, would also help other citizens as well. The citizen-centric participatory approach of the various programmes of BSCL is also good for others to emulate.”

Shubhashweti Sinha, architect and expert in international cooperation felt that the use of technology like App in Mo Bus and other elements in public transport is a good concept.

“The heritage area and its inclusion in CITIIS programme in future would also be a good thing to begin with as the city is well-known for its ancient structures and rich cultural heritage and a valuable aspect of the city,” she added.

The Smart City Fellows went around the city and visited various project sites like Smart Janpath, heritage structures in Ekamra Kshetra and other public spaces like Smart Parks and parks maintained by Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA).

The three fellows also interacted with senior officials and experts of BSCL, BDA and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation to have more knowledge on the city and its urban development initiatives.