Articles by Lalit Pattajoshi

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. In Part 1 of the story, we saw how pollution of the Daya river and lack of a proper sewerage system is affecting Bhubaneswar.  Bhubaneswar’s other problem is drainage. The city used to have 10 natural drainage channels that carried rainwater coming from the uplands in Chandaka forest and other areas around the city. But in the last few decades, most natural drainage channels have been encroached by illegal constructions blocking water flow.  “We have asked the state government to give Rs…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. One of the earliest planned cities in the country, Odisha’s capital even today lacks a comprehensive sewerage system with treatment facilities. As a result, residents of 115 villages living along the lower end of Daya river are afflicted by several diseases, particularly cancer, as they are forced to use its water polluted by effluents and sewage generated by Bhubaneswar’s 11 lakh plus population. Daya river and adjoining plains: A view from Dhaulagiri. Pic: Rinaz Mohammed Umakanta Samantray, the MLA from…

Odisha has just added another first to its credit. While others are only talking about putting money in the hands of people, chief minister Naveen Pattnaik announced an Urban Wage Employment Initiative (UWEI) scheme to help the informal work force in the state’s 114 urban local bodies. The initiative envisages immediate execution of all labour intensive projects in the ULBs in the state, with an allocation of Rs 100 crore, including Rs 10 crore to the Bhubaneswar Municipal corporation, to be spent on wages of workers working on these projects during April to September. The state government’s Urban Development and…

Odisha is primarily a rural economy, with 83% of the state’s population living in rural areas as per the 2011 census, and dependent for their livelihood primarily on agriculture and allied activities. Not surprisingly, the state's first steps have been to open up activities in agriculture, rural housing and MGNREGA work. Around 20% of Bhubaneswar’s daily wage labourers working in both the formal and informal sectors have returned to their villages while those left behind remain dependent for their survival on the cooked food and rations, besides groceries and vegetables being provided by the city authorities. Daily wage labourers who…

The cancellation of the traditional Ashokastami Rath Yatra (car Festival) of the 11th century Sri Lingaraj temple at Bhubaneswar on April 1ST, which also happens to be Odisha’s foundation day, reflects the state government’s approach to contain the spread of the virus. Like Puri’s car festival, the Ashokastami Yatra, held a day before Ram Navami, has been one of the city’s traditional festivals since the 12th century. Even at the height of the Orissa famine in 1866, (Naanka Durvikhya in Oriya) this was not cancelled. But the injunction against large gatherings to prevent the coronavirus spread forced the temple authorities to cancel…