Like most cities in India, Bhubaneswar is being driven to its knees due to extreme rainfall and intolerable temperatures, underscoring the urgent need for climate-smart urban planning
After intense overnight showers, Bhubaneswar woke up on Saturday, July 21,
morning with half the city under water. The situation at the capital of
the eastern state of Odisha in many ways typifies poor urban management
in India that is crumbling under adverse climatic conditions.
Residents in many parts of the city were stranded in their homes and
the condition was so dire in some parts that the state’s disaster
response team has to start rescue operations. Roads in the state capital
looked like gushing streams. Disaster response forces moved to
waterlogged areas with floating pumps to drain out water.