Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The Housing & Urban Development (H&UD) Department’s Odisha Urban Academy held a Consultative Workshop to talk about the Draft Parking Policy for Urban Odisha. Senior government representatives, academicians from around the state, town planners, architects, civil society members, municipal commissioners, and transportation specialists were all brought together for the occasion. The goal of the workshop was to address the rising problem of uncontrolled parking in the quickly growing metropolitan regions of Odisha. Building a comprehensive legislative framework to guarantee effective parking management, reduce traffic congestion, and improve urban liveability was the main topic of discussion.
A structured approach to on-street and off-street parking is suggested in the draft policy, along with demand-based pricing, improved land use, the implementation of smart parking technology, and the encouragement of sustainable mobility, which includes walking, bicycling, and public transportation. The keynote talk was given by Rajesh Pravaakar Patil, Special Secretary of the H&UD Department, who described the main points of the proposed policy and how it would enhance traffic flow and make areas more livable for citizens.
Prof. Shalini Sinha, Mriganka Saxena, Zohra Mutabanna, Bankim Kalra, and Aswathy Dilip provided professional opinions at a panel discussion led by Ashtha Malhotra. The topics of debate included enforcement tactics, transit-oriented development (TOD), and non-motorized transportation (NMT).
