Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar shines with three awards in a go and acknowledgments amongst the 100 smart cities in the India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISAC) 2020 and the ‘Smart Cities-Smart Urbanization’ Conference held at Surat.
Organised by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the conference was focused on ideas that can shape the future of Indian cities where Bhubaneswar stays ahead for its innovative approach and socially committed initiatives under Bhubaneswar Smart City Ltd (BSCL).
Bhubaneswar won the first accolade being the Socially Smart City in the social aspect category by securing the second position. Similarly, the unified Portal ‘Bhubaneswar.Me’ got mentioned and awarded in the governance category. It has been conceptualised and designed by BDAs in-house technical wing BUKC (Bhubaneswar Urban Knowledge Centre). The recent Place-making Marathon for Maa Mangala Pokhari Rejuvenation got wide appreciation at the conference and was amongst the best six such winning initiatives.
“Our efforts have been focused towards enabling Bhubaneswar as a sustainable and resilient urban city” said Sanjay Kumar Singh, Municipal Commissioner-Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, VC-BDA & CEO-BSCL. “Bhubaneswar is expanding and is now considered one of the most livable cities in the country for its continuous efforts on sustainability. Community participation is our key to becoming smart as a city and smarter as citizens, he adds.
The conference witnessed the bigwigs of Indian Urban Governance and development fraternity including the Minister of MoHUA and other senior officials from different Indian cities and states. Bhubaneswar was in focus for its community and civic participation in the development process and citizen connect initiatives. The Socially Smart Bhubaneswar was much appreciated for its unique approach to designing people-centric interventions and emphasizing on equitable development involving the slum dwellers, youth, women, and children.
Similar was the approach when under Place Making Marathon, Maa Mangala Pokhari got rejuvenated with a peripheral vibrant community space developed with the active participation of the community. A derelict urban space got transformed into a vibrant community space with a record time of 75 hours where communities lent their hands to the authority is what caught the eyeballs of many at the conference. Place-making marathons across India are much in news for the innovative makeover of urban spaces where Bhubaneswar stands out with the collaboration of community, local artists, women, and children. The space currently has elements like badminton court, open gym and walkways for the youth and children’s play area with swings and other elements.
Bhubaneswar.Me is one of its kind unified city portal by any smart city authority being the one stop platform for 100+ citizen centric services to experience improved and hassle-free life in the City.