Bhubaneswar, 11 June (H.S.) : A nine-member delegation from the Rajasthan Urban Drinking Water Sewerage and Infrastructure Corporation Ltd. (RUIDP), Jaipur, undertook an exposure visit to Bhubaneswar and Puri under an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-supported programme. The visit aimed to study Odisha’s best practices in urban development, particularly in water supply, sanitation, and urban governance.

The delegation included senior officials such as Mohan Lal Saini, Additional Chief Engineer, Zone Jaipur; Mukesh Kumar Meena and Khemraj Meena, Superintending Engineers, PMU Jaipur; Satyanarayan Verma, Executive Engineer, PIU Nathdwara; Amit Verma, Executive Engineer, PMU Jaipur; Anil Patidar, Assistant Engineer, PIU Dungarpur; Ashok Kumar Bansiwal, Assistant Engineer, PIU Banswara; Sanju Pooniya, Junior Engineer, PIU Nawalgarh; and Kush Kumar, Junior Engineer, PIU Jodhpur.

During the visit, the team conducted extensive field inspections of key urban infrastructure projects in Bhubaneswar and Puri. They also interacted with officials of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, gaining insights into the city’s governance systems, sanitation management practices, service delivery mechanisms, and citizen-centric urban initiatives.

A key highlight of the programme was an interaction session held at the Odisha Urban Academy with Smt. Usha Padhee, Additional Chief Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department, Government of Odisha. She presented an overview of Odisha’s urban transformation journey and highlighted several flagship initiatives that have positioned the state as a leader in urban sector reforms.

She particularly emphasized the State’s “24x7 Drink from Tap Mission,” which has set a national benchmark in ensuring safe, equitable, and continuous access to potable water. She also outlined Odisha’s progress in sanitation and waste management, integrated urban planning, public transport modernization, technology-driven governance, and sustainable infrastructure development.

The RUIDP delegation appreciated Odisha’s urban service delivery models and expressed interest in replicating several of these best practices in Rajasthan. The visit served as a platform for knowledge exchange, capacity building, and strengthening inter-state collaboration in the urban development sector.

The interaction was also attended by Suvendu Kumar Sahu, Additional Secretary-cum-Director of the Odisha Urban Academy, along with other officials from the Housing & Urban Development Department and the Odisha Urban Academy.

Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda