Basudev Mahapatra Citizen Matters

Resilience, diversity in focus as Bhubaneswar tries to restore trees lost to Fani

July 3, 2019 Basudev Mahapatra

Government, civil society and corporate bodies have joined hands to regreen cyclone-ravaged Bhubaneswar, but what is needed is not just replantation but also proper urban forest planning.

Can Bhubaneswar’s smart city infrastructure withstand summer heat stress?

May 30, 2019 Basudev Mahapatra

Extreme heat stress caused by high ‘wet bulb temperatures’ and urban heat island effect come into play in Odisha’s capital, that is often the hottest city in the country during summers. But what do these terms imply, and how are they a threat to the upcoming smart city?

Fani aftermath: Civil society groups play key role in cyclone-ravaged Bhubaneswar

May 16, 2019 Basudev Mahapatra

While government disaster response teams focus on roads, electricity and other infrastructure, local community groups and volunteers try to mobilise residents to participate in the relief work being done in their localities, and especially the low income settlements.

In waterless, powerless Bhubaneswar, green is a thing of the past (PHOTOS)

May 8, 2019 Basudev Mahapatra

Photos of the devastated city and the massive damage to tree cover in Bhubaneswar wrought by Cyclone Fani

In Bhubaneswar MP race, winner will have to meet voter expectations on local issues

April 24, 2019 Basudev Mahapatra

Water, waste, traffic: A post-election chat with voters in Bhubaneswar, which went to polls on April 23rd, reveals that these nagging civic issues are what they expect their MP to take up and address!

Can water ATMs ease the daily struggle of the poor in Bhubaneswar?

March 23, 2019 Basudev Mahapatra

Water ATMs now provide around 2.9 lakh litres of safe, affordable water every month to residents of 40 slums in Bhubaneswar. But in a city which has 400 plus slums and where the total demand for water is estimated to hit 143 million litres a day in 2019, can this really be a significant game-changer?

45 degrees in April, submerged in July: Smart city Bhubaneswar needs to be climate-smart

July 31, 2018 Basudev Mahapatra

As in many other cities in India, extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall and intolerable temperatures are becoming an annual event in Bhubaneswar too. One can no longer ignore the urgent need for climate-smart urban planning.