BHUBANESWAR, Odisha: A team of 21 officials, including elected representatives and functionaries from Kozhikode and Palakad urban local bodies (ULBs) in Kerala, visited Odisha on a three-day exposure visit to study the best practices adopted by the Government of Odisha for better sewage and septage management, solid waste management, drinking water supply, city beautification and heritage management in the capital city Bhubaneswar, Puri and Cuttack.
The team of delegates from Kerala includes Beena Philip, Mayor, Kozhikode Municipal Corporation, Priya Ajayan, Chairperson, Palakkad Municipality and Babu Ambat, Executive Director, Centre for Environment and Development (CED).
The exposure visit was held as part of the Individual Capacity Building Programme under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT 2.0). The exposure visit was organised by the Centre for Environment and Development (CED) – a national-level training entity empanelled by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.
The government official said, “The team visited the sewage treatment plants, wealth centres, and Smart Janpath in Bhubaneswar and also visited Puri to see the Drink from Tap project. They also went to Konark and Cuttack.”
The exposure visit also consisted of an interactive session with Sulochana Das, Mayor, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), where she briefed the Kerala team about the urban transformation journey in Odisha. She said, “The ULBs are the service delivery and action points for implementing plans and strategies to overcome challenges of urbanisation.”