Rome Built Over Ashes, Dubai On Desert — Will Bhubaneswar Rise From Dust?

Some decades ago, Bhubaneswar invested in creating a street that looks like Dubai with date palms etc. Yet it is far from many simple indicators that people are debating at the ongoing World Urban Forum in Katowice, Poland, on how cities can be sustainable, equitable, resilient.

Odisha has a reason to celebrate its two decades of investment in building a resilient community at the headquarters of World Food Programme in Rome, not very far from Poland. Today also, Odisha pitched in at one of the world’s leading financial hubs Dubai for investment in the state. Of course it sounds great.

But then monsoon is a unique season where one can talk uncomfortable truths about Bhubaneswar. Despite claims like world-class traffic systems, India’s biggest command centre, experts of international standards, more financial resources, nothing can stop modern Bhubaneswar from falling flat when it rains.

Recent rains threw up the question why vehicles were playing waterpolo in waterlogged sites. If the same road can be blocked for vehicular movement during Durga Puja, then why does the same system allow such images that exposes Bhubaneswar.

Some say Rs 1000-crore solution is in action, while someone pops up sponge technology that will ensure no more waterlogging. But somehow the Pandora’s box has not yet closed. Every politician, bureaucrat, engineer has ideas before media or public to excuse that moment until another day.

Simple reason and the solutions too are simple. But the mindset and ego of decision-making are so significant that Bhubaneswar is trapped to face such situations daily. It’s sad that no one understands or respects the dynamics of Bhubaneswar geography.

The very first thing one needs to understand about a city is its geography, which is grossly misunderstood and overlooked. That’s the simple yet complex reason why Bhubaneswar gets waterlogged.

Every time it rains when on a bicycle is a worrying thought as a 10-minute ride often takes 45 minutes. Sometimes it takes more than 90 minutes to be safe enough to move. This situation is just a trailer of bigger movies that are likely to keep Bhubaneswar engaged over the next couple of months to deal with rain water.

This image will certainly dampen the branding exercise of Odisha on every front, as these days every person has a mobile phone with access to news from all over the world. Imagine the chief minister addressing global audiences in Dubai about investing in Odisha through mainstream media but, on the other side, images of waterlogging popping up with other urban issues which can reach global investors about the state capital’s preparedness for rolling the red carpet.

Odisha has a reason to attract investment, yet its cities must ready itself to roll out red carpet for investors.

Bhubaneswar has to rise and meet expectations by turning itself on par with Singapore, Seoul, Guangzhou, etc. and try to host a global event in the next decade, just like Rome did in the Sixties as host of Olympic Games and Dubai hosted the World Expo. Similarly, Bhubaneswar must reinvent itself from the castle of egos into a vibrant city for its own people.

The pandemic has shown the world that cities have to redefine life in regards to transforming cities for a better urban future. Bhubaneswar has all the potential to be the lighthouse of transformation in this part of the globe.