Bhubaneswar: Delegates from Cupertino city of United States Monday discussed with Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation officials to boost ties through student exchange programmes, cultural exchanges and sharing of technology.
Significantly, Cupertino and Bhubaneswar officially started a sister city relationship November 24, 2012, with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) by the mayors of both the cities.
Cupertino Mayor Savita Vaidhyanathan proposed an exchange programme between middle school students.
“Students from Bhubaneswar will visit Cupertino and vice versa. This will create a bonding between the families. Recently, students from Toyokama had visited Cupertino and when they left the US city, all were in tears,” Vaidhyanathan said.
The sister cities concept started post World War II to improve better ties with people irrespective of federal governments. Dancers like Sujata Mohapatra and Rahul Acharya have performed Odissi at Cupertino. Students from an orphanage in Bhubaneswar had also visited Cupertino in the past. City Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said, “The Sister Cities link started in November, 2012, would go a long way in providing a unique collaboration between the two cities through the exchange of art, culture and heritage.”
Jena also recounted how Bhubaneswar has evolved into a Smart City with a vision to have a child-friendly habitation.
Municipal commissioner Krishan Kumar also emphasized a three-pronged cooperation between the cities in his address – Technology, heritage and culture – and exchange programmes for better ties. He hoped, the two sister cities could improve cooperation through use of IT tools in daily life.
“We are providing better citizen services through efficient use of technology. Bhubaneswar has 361 monuments of which 24 are of national importance. The use of technology in more such fields will take Bhubaneswar to the next level of smart application mode,” said Kumar. He also spoke about exploration of business and investment opportunities in the second Info Valley Project here.
Bhubaneswar MLAs (Central) and (North) Bijay Kumar Mohanty and Priyadarshi Mishra respectively spoke on the occasion. Mishra said he had visited Cupertino in 2010 as a delegate for the ‘Invest Bhubaneswar’ initiative and hoped the Cupertino-Bhubaneswar Sister City Initiative (CBSCI) would help the city as a passport for cooperation to other cities in the USA.
Cupertino Mayor’s husband Rammurthy Vaidhyanathan, a senior IT expert based in the Silicon Valley, and co-founders of CBSCI Mahesh Pakala and Reena Pattanaik Rao from Cupertino were present at the meeting.
Pakala said, “There could be exchange of students between families of two cities, adult exchange programmes for knowledge gathering for better city management capabilities and IT-based knowledge sharing.” Representatives of CBSCI also stressed the need for strengthening tourism and soft-skills to improve more international tourist inflow.
US city offers help to bail Capital out of water-logging
Bhubaneswar: With an hour of rain making the Smart City water-logged at many places, Cupertino, the sister city of Bhubaneswar, has offered technical know-how to tackle the problem.
“We are ready to share the technical know-how used by our city to Bhubaneswar to address the water-logging issues of the capital. The delegates from Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) can also come to Cupertino for understanding the technology used by us,” said Cupertino mayor Savita Vaidhyanathan.
It is an open secret that Bhubaneswar which clinched the No.1 position in the country’s Smart City list doesn’t have a perfect drainage or sewage system. In fact, this is the main reason which compelled the civic body to open a dedicated 24X7 control room to address the water-logging issues during the monsoon. Thus the US city’s offer comes as a great relief for the temple town and its inhabitants.
Welcoming the offer, Bhubaneswar mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said: “We definitely appreciate the offer of Cupertino and we will have a discussion with our officials about it. Then we will decide the future course of action.”
Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) officials also opined that the technology used by the US city can be a panacea for the water-logging issues of the state and the country.
“Currently, we cannot say about the feasibility of the technology used by them in our cities. But, we definitely analyze their technology and will consider its adaptability for our city,” said a top official of BDA.
In fact, a dedicated team with assistant engineers (mechanical), tractors, pump sets and workers laboured round the clock during the recent monsoon season for addressing the water-logging issues of the capital. But, even after making elaborate arrangements, the capital has faced water-logging at many places, causing inconvenience to commuters. Therefore, the officials hope that Cupertino’s offer will even ensure a smooth transportation during the monsoon.
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