Urban Adda 2026 Convenes with Delhi Ministers, Seven New Studies, Music, Poetry and Art to Reclaim City Habitats Through Clean Air, Safe Streets and Equitable Design

• Delhi ministers Ashish Sood and Manjinder Singh Sirsa, former G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant and CAQM Chairperson Rajesh Verma among the speakers
   
• Summit opens with Raahgiri Day at Connaught Place on October 4 and closes with the Walk21 Asia-Pacific Regional Dialogue on October 7
   
• New studies, including the first estimate of how much local traffic contributes to Gurugram’s air pollution and an electric tractor pilot that is the first of its kind in India

Hosted by Raahgiri Foundation with GuruJal, ICCT India and Nagarro Foundation at the India Habitat Centre, the three-day summit will see new evidence launched on children’s exposure to traffic pollution in Gurugram, electric buses, waste trucks and tractors, clean air zones for schools and heritage cities, road crashes in Gurugram and a roadmap for electric school buses across Delhi-NCR

NEW DELHI, October 3, 2026: Seven new studies on how traffic pollution, unsafe streets and diesel fleets are shaping life in Indian cities, among them the first estimate of how much local traffic contributes to Gurugram’s air pollution and an 11-month electric tractor pilot that is the first of its kind in India, will be released at Urban Adda 2026, which opens at the India Habitat Centre on Monday with Delhi cabinet ministers Ashish Sood and Manjinder Singh Sirsa among its speakers.

Hosted by Raahgiri Foundation with co-hosts GuruJal, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) India and Nagarro Foundation, the second edition of the summit runs from October 5 to 7 as North India heads into another season of hazardous air, and brings ministers, regulators, city administrators, urban planners, young people and artists together to work through clean air, electric mobility, water security, road safety and walkability.

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa will open the second day on October 6 with a plenary on circularity for water security, and Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood will open the third day on October 7, when Urban Adda, in partnership with the Walk21 Foundation, hosts the Walk21 Asia-Pacific Regional Dialogue on the place of walking in the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035), with study releases planned during both ministers’ sessions. Former G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant and Rajesh Verma, Chairperson of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), will close the first day with a plenary on India’s clean vehicle transition, where a further release is planned, as is one at the October 6 session on who powers the EV transition, whose panel includes Delhi Transport Commissioner Niharika Rai.

Studies being released

Three of the studies look at what traffic does to children. A Raahgiri Foundation and ICCT India report, “Clean Air Zones Around Schools: Gurugram Case Example”, measures the particulate levels children breathe on the school commute against national standards, while another study gives the first estimate of how much local traffic contributes to Gurugram’s air pollution, and a regulatory roadmap that Raahgiri Foundation will present to CAQM makes the case for a phased shift to electric school buses across Delhi-NCR to cut tailpipe exposure for more than 250,000 students.

Raahgiri Foundation will also release “Clean Air, Clean Mobility in Heritage Cities”, a framework prepared for clean air zones in Varanasi, Mathura, Agra and Jaipur, and the “Gurugram Vision Zero Report 2025”, which analyses the district’s road crash data for 2025 and sets out an action plan for 2026–27. Detailed findings will be shared with the media at each launch.

“Every winter the conversation about our cities begins when the air turns hazardous and ends when it clears, while the children walking to school, the people crossing our roads and the workers who keep our cities running live with the consequences all year,” said Sarika Panda Bhatt, Co-Founder and Trustee, Raahgiri Foundation. “By bringing ministers, regulators and city administrators into the same room as researchers, young people and residents, and by placing new evidence from Gurugram, Indore and our heritage cities in front of them, we can move the discussion from what is wrong with our streets to what each agency will do about it. Urban Adda is our attempt to make sure these studies lead to safer school zones, cleaner fleets and streets where everyone can walk without fear.”

Programme highlights

The summit opens on the street on Sunday before moving to the India Habitat Centre for three days of plenaries, workshops, youth sessions, poetry and art:

• Raahgiri Day & Sundays on Cycle (Sunday, Oct 4 | 7:00 AM – 10:00 AM IST | Inner Circle, Connaught Place): Opening the summit by reclaiming public spaces for people. The street takeover features open-street activities, community cycling, and a live performance by the iconic rock band Euphoria at Central Park.
   
• Policy Plenaries & Roundtables (Oct 5–7 | 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM IST | India Habitat Centre): Three days of multi-stakeholder dialogues focused on creating Clean Air Zones, electrifying public transport, scaling urban water security, integrating gender-inclusive street infrastructure, and prioritizing pedestrian rights.
   
• Youth Adda & Solution Showcase (Oct 5–6 | India Habitat Centre): Youth-led interactive workshops and a "Solutions Showcase" poster gallery (5:30 PM – 6:30 PM daily) highlighting student and civic-tech innovations in micro-mobility and accessible design.
   
• Shehr-e-Mehfil Urban Poetry Night (Monday, Oct 5 | 7:00 PM IST | Open Air Amphitheatre, IHC): An evening hosted by Sehreeti, bringing together diverse voices to translate complex urban challenges into poetry under the theme "Humara Shehr, Humara Ehsaas".
   
• Interactive Art Exhibition (Oct 1–19 | Central Atrium, IHC): A public installation showcasing co-created art, photography, and interactive exhibits documenting shared visions for livable cities.

Prominent Keynotes and Speakers

Urban Adda 2026 will feature contributions from key government officials and sector experts:

• Government & Leadership: Ashish Sood (Cabinet Minister, Delhi), Manjinder Singh Sirsa (Cabinet Minister, Delhi), Amitabh Kant (Former G20 Sherpa), Navneet Sehgal (Chairman, Prasar Bharati), and Rajesh Verma (Chairperson, CAQM).
   
• Urban Administration & Transport: Jayesh Ranjan (Special Chief Secretary, Telangana), Niharika Rai (Transport Commissioner, Delhi), Manoj Kumar Dwivedi (Chairperson, NDMC), Ajay Chaudhry (Special Commissioner of Police - Traffic, Delhi), and Tarun Kumar Pithode (Member Secretary, CAQM).
   
• Global & Technical Experts: Bronwen Thornton (CEO, Walk21 Foundation), Jim Walker (Founder, Walk21 Foundation), Prof. Geetam Tiwari (IIT Delhi), Sarika Panda Bhatt (Raahgiri Foundation), and Amit Bhatt (ICCT India).

MEDIA & EVENT INFORMATION

• Dates: October 4–7, 2026 (Raahgiri Day on Oct 4; Summit Sessions Oct 5–7)
   
• Venues:
  • Oct 4: Inner Circle, Connaught Place, New Delhi
  • Oct 5–7: India Habitat Centre (IHC), Lodhi Road, New Delhi (Media Entry via Gate 3)
     
• Full Agenda: www.urbanadda.org
   
• Government Partners: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Department of Urban Development, Government of Delhi, Government of Telangana, Fit India, and CAQM.

Media RSVP & Interview Requests:

Journalists and media representatives wishing to attend or schedule interviews with key speakers are invited to RSVP by October 4, 2026.

Media Contact:

Sherry Frosh

Associate Director, Communications & Strategy

Raahgiri Foundation

Phone: +91 9953466107

Email: sherebanu@raahgirifoundation.org

Photo, video, and broadcast opportunities will be available throughout Raahgiri Day (CP), the Shehr-e-Mehfil poetry evening, and the Central Atrium art exhibition.