World Habitat Day: Time For Bhubaneswar To Act & Make The Impossible Happen

As we celebrate World Habitat Day, let us commit to creating a future where the youth are at the forefront of urban transformation. By doing so, we can build urban spaces that are vibrant, sustainable and in harmony with nature.

With 2 in 3 people expected to live in urban areas by 2050, cities must be at the centre of Climate Action efforts without making any compromises. Otherwise, urbanisation can have devastating impacts on natural ecosystems, in turn negatively affecting the wellbeing of urban populations.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Each one of us must act. From driving less to recycling and reducing food waste, we can all make cities act to protect our planet.

Let’s look at some issues that definitely bother many in day-to-day lifestyle.

Bhubaneswar is not as big as its Durga Puja festival. It was not like this a couple of years ago. Then, Durga Puja used to be just a three-day autumn festival of family gathering, spending time with nature, reading literature and limited to neighbourhood with more organised crowds.

But today’s puja is of more of a show-up between various neighbourhood to showcase their power, politics, not the culture. These pandals are located so strategically that they are bound to create trouble for their own people living in the vicinity. Drawing big crowds and making the venue congested around midnight is a major indicator for a pandal being more popular than others.

This congestion doesn’t happen naturally, like Rath Yatra in Puri. Rather, it’s more of a creation by those managing the puja by converging cultural shows next to pandals, no matter whether it’s traffic a junction, highway, hospitals or people living nearby.

The situation is getting worse every year with no one stopping the Meena Bazars, food plazas, Ram Leela or Ravan effigy burning etc. in such close proximity.

All these lead to roads getting choked. Car is the biggest threat of road congestion as they take up more space for movement and parking. Their occupants want everything closer, hence they can’t even walk to puja pandals and want the vehicle to reach 100 metres or so from their destination.

Traffic congestion will not change overnight despite adding new roads, widening existing roads, deploying more policepersons or volunteers. Until and unless the planning process is not changed, the situation will continue to get worse for the capital city to deal with festivities.

Perhaps it’s time to think before the city is brought to a standstill for over a week and thus creating huge problems for senior citizens and those who need ambulance, fire service, etc.

Just to remind citizens of Bhubaneswar, people in Kolkata walk long distances as they hop pandals during Durga puja, Mumbaikars do likewise during Ganesha festival and devotees in Puri during Rath Yatra.

The question is, when will we wake up to realise these pandals are just copycat structures — and not real heritage for which Bhubaneswar is famous for – and we shouldn’t create trouble.

The solution doesn’t mean stopping the festival, but rather adopt a new approach by strictly applying principles of walking, cycling, public transport, mobility as a service. The comprehensive and flexible strategy can be adjusted each day in response to changing weather, demand, and other external factors.

While Durga Puja is an unlikely place for a sustainable transport revolution, the event’s 350,000 daily attendees could be allowed to drive till 2 kilometres away from pandals. Organisers should execute an integrated mobility plan, where 90% of visitors arrive by foot, bicycle or public transport.

Similarly, no convergence of Meena Bazar-Cultural Events-Ravan Podi within one-kilometre radius of pandals, no permission of crowds gathering in highway, major roads or junctions. The goal should be of going car-free.

Critics might say that’s impossible, but authorities need to turn the impossible into possible in Bhubaneswar, shifting behaviour with a bold vision, targeted investment, and effective cooperation. Because Bhubaneswar is a state capital, it can’t halt for a week because of bad traffic, congestion and so on.

When organisers at the Dutch Grand Prix announced car-free approach to the venue, they were ridiculed. Dutch planners thought fans would hesitate to cycle long distances in wind and rain, but they were pleasantly surprised. Pedalling through the dunes to the 45,000 popup parking spaces has become a social and enjoyable part of the race day experience.

While an F1 race is an unlikely place for a sustainable transport revolution, the event’s 110,000 daily attendees were prohibited from arriving by car. Instead, organisers executed an integrated mobility plan, resulting in 98% of fans traveling by foot, bicycle or public transport.

They made the impossible happen, shifting behaviour with a bold vision, targeted investment, and effective cooperation.

Taking the cue from Dutch experience, Bhubaneswar could set a target of 100% sustainable mode share within reach during Durga Puja, and then this idealistic dream may become a concrete blueprint that can be replicated everywhere. After all, changing behaviour always seems impossible until you roll up your sleeves and make it happen.

Bhubaneswar is becoming home to a new generation of leaders and changemakers. Young people are at the heart of this transformation. World Habitat Day 2024 is a call for action.

We are not just reflecting on the state of cities or discussing the right to adequate housing, we are asking the next-gen leaders to step up and act. Millennials and youths are the driving force behind sustainable urban development, and their leadership is crucial in empowering youth to take the lead in shaping their urban present and future through participatory processes and local leadership.

It’s time to catch them young as our cities must prepare for the future, where urban planning is complemented by the young minds. The number of people living in our city is on the rise: Today, around 10,00,000 people call Bhubaneswar their home, and in 20 years’ time, that number will grow to around 20,00,000 on a conservative estimate in absence of 2021 Population Census.

Hence, Bhubaneswar needs to make sure that our city is a healthy and enjoyable place for these people to live and work. Bhubaneswar must make sure that its people can travel across, in and out of the city quickly and easily, and have plenty of things to do in their spare time.