XI Metropolis World Congress to begin tomorrow at Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: The five-day XI Metropolis World Congress 2014 with 'Cities for All' theme will begin tomorrow in the city, which is hosting its first international mega event after the formation of Telangana state.

Over 2,000 delegates, including 400 participants from 50 countries, will attend the the international forum for exploring issues and concerns common to all metropolitan regions.

Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan will inaugurate the Congress on October 7 which will be attended by Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao among other dignitaries.

President Pranab Mukherjee will address the valedictory function scheduled on October 9.

Mayors of several member cities like Johannesburg, Barcelona, Berlin, Tehran among others, technocrats, administrators and experts will be part of the discussions.

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam would deliver the keynote address on 'Of the People, By the People, For the People' at a plenary session to be moderated by former Defence Research and Development Organisation chief V K Saraswat.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Rajendra Pachauri will speak on 'The Politics of Climate Change and Global Cities'.

According to Telangana Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma, "Metropolis is a forum to exchange ideas and developments. It is a platform to discuss issues of common interest of cities in terms of development and urban governance."

Created in 1985, the Metropolis Association is represented by more than 130 members from across the world and operates as an international forum for exploring issues and concerns common to all metropolitan regions.

Different subjects of metropolis cities would be discussed during the meet, including 100 smart cities, health in cities, housing and satellite cities. It also has a specific agenda on issues such as women, green buildings and some cities like Barcelona, Mexico, Seoul and Sao Paulo will demonstrate their initiatives, the organisers said.

GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar said elaborate arrangements for the event have been made and to improve the brand image of Hyderabad, a new way of welcome arches are being arranged to have a festive look.

Nine technical visits are also being organised for delegates to cover Hyderabad Metro Rail, Hussainsagar lake reclamation, women SHGs, Indian Green Building Council, IT Corridor/Cyberabad, etc.

Around 750 policemen will be deployed to provide security and to man the routes where delegates would be travelling, Cyberabad Police Commissioner C V Anand said, adding that as many as 60 policemen will be travel guides to the participating international delegates.