BHUBANESWAR : Finally, a German hand will end Capital city’s biggest headache - the perennial problem of flooding of NH-16 and its service road near Iskcon temple at Nayapalli. German Ambassador to India Walter J Lindner expressed hope that the problem will be resolved by the next monsoon.
In an interaction with The New Indian Express on Friday, the diplomat who is on a four-day visit to Odisha, said the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), is working with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to address urban flooding in the area.
Lindner said the BMC with technical expertise from GIZ will be implementing an innovative ‘sponge technology’ project which aims at creating permeable surfaces below the road and footpaths to absorb and retain the rainwater that can be harvested later. “Two rounds of studies for the purpose have been completed. The city engineers told me that before the next monsoon, the sponge plan will be in place near the Iskcon temple. Funds will soon be placed for the purpose by the German government,” he said.
Currently, Germany is helping the Indian government in developing Bhubaneswar, Kochi and Coimbatore as smart cities. Bhubaneswar, he said, was designed by the German architect Otto H Konigsberger in 1946 to accommodate 40,000 people. But today, there are over a million people in the city which has thrown up new challenges for drinking water, waste management, transportation, energy efficiency and urban flooding.
He, however, said that in implementing ‘smart’ projects, the planners should align them with heritage and cultural landscape of the city. “I am told there are 599 temples existing in the city now. One has to be very careful not to touch the heritage of Bhubaneswar while transforming it into a smart city,” he said while suggesting that the sponge technology plan can also be implemented near temples in Old town which face flooding due to blockage of natural drain channels.
The diplomat visited the Sun temple at Konark, Srimandir at Puri and Raghurajpur crafts villages on the day. “Odisha is a hidden gem. Post-pandemic, the government should promote responsible tourism to prevent over-exploitation of its treasures, particularly tribal and rural tourism,” he suggested. He also said he has become fan of Odia food. “I am vegetarian and I found Odia food to be excellent. I liked it because it is not spicy and very soft on the palate. In fact, every thing in this State is very soft...the people are very soft-spoken,” he said.