Bhubaneswar is the capital of the state of Odisha in India. It’s the largest city in Odisha, and is a center of economic and religious importance in Eastern India.
In March of 2017, the municipal corporation of Bhubaneswar was awarded Rs 27 crore from the Odisha Urban Infrastructure Development Fund to restore 14 natural water bodies throughout the city.
Of course, restoring the water bodies without proper ongoing maintenance will only provide temporary improvement. “We have restored and renovated almost all the smaller ponds. But after restoration, these ponds need proper and timely maintenance, and we hope that the new consultant will help us with that. We will work in co-ordination with the agency and restore the ponds in terms of the environmental regulations,” said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.
An RFP has been issued for both restoration and maintenance. A government official stated, “A tender has been floated to select the agencies with expertise in pond reclamation. It will be over by the end of December, and the agency will be engaged in the job of restoring the ponds. All the ponds will be renovated simultaneously.”
Feature photo by Sailesh Patnaik (via Wikipedia) shows the skyline of Bhubaneswar from Khandagiri Hill.