Even though it is only April, the maximum (day) temperature is soaring above 40 degree Celsius in the State capital Bhubaneswar.
This has become routine since 1998 onwards. But surprisingly, the town planners are yet to implement any new ways to keep the temperatures down and protect the residents.
Cooling is particularly important in cities facing rising temperatures, worsened by the urban heat island effect -- concrete and tarmac absorbing the sun’s power, radiating it out as heat and keeping the city warm long after the sun has gone down. Waste heat from engines and other energy-consuming equipment in transportation, industry and space cooling make cities even hotter.
Often, poorer neighborhoods are most affected as residents have less access to air conditioners and breezy green spaces, putting vulnerable people at greater risk of heat-related health complications.
However, the Urban Development Department or the Bhubaneswar Development Authority or the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation are yet to have a Heat Action Plan to keep the soaring temperatures down and protect the residents.
Though the Government has spent crores in building urban infrastructure projects in the capital, very little attention has been paid to improving the city's green cover. Notwithstanding the damage Bhubaneswar has taken from natural disasters.
The capital suffered damage to over 1 lakh trees in May 2019 after Cyclone Fani ravaged coastal Odisha. Besides, about 1,700 trees were felled for National Highway expansion near Khandagiri and other stretches, while another 1,000 large trees have been chopped off for road, building and other infrastructure projects.
According to sources, by March 2022, nearly Rs 740 crore was spent for city beautification and development of infrastructure in Bhubaneswar under Smart City Mission.
Around Rs 150 crore was pumped in to complete Smart Janpath and a 11-storied BMC-ICOMC building at Satya Nagar under Smart City but the city's depleting green cover has received little attention and peanuts have been spent on it.
Neither the city Forest Division nor the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has carried out any plantation drive since 2019-2020.