Odisha’s Rourkela is among the 15 cities of the world to win the 2021-2022 Global Mayors Challenge conducted by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The prestigious worldwide innovation competition recognised cities for designing the boldest and most ambitious urban innovations to emerge from the global Covid-19 pandemic. “The yearlong competition launched in 2021 elevates the most promising urban innovations to emerge from the pandemic,” said Bloomberg Philanthropies in a press release.As many as 631 cities from 99 countries had participated in the competition.Rourkela bagged the winner tag for providing “cold-storage units to women co-ops to empower female food vendors, reduce food waste, and increase access to fresh foods”, the release said.Rourkela is also the only city from India to secure place in the Top 15. Rourkela’s idea was to set up a digitised cluster based on solar cold storage and use electric vehicles to distribute perishable commodities to various categories of consumers.This makes the city eligible for a grant of USD 1 Million from Bloomberg Philanthropies and technical assistance to carry out the innovation over the next three years. 631 cities from 99 countries took part in the contest.Under Global Mayors Challenge, Rourkela has developed a sustainable model which augments the income of women and small-time traders of the city while promoting the use of technology. As part of the project, Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) has developed a cold storage facility at the local Veer Surendra Sai (VSS) Market in partnership with a NIT Rourkela based startup and managed by women self-help group members.With this solution, local farmers and fruit traders have been able to enhance their income by preserving their produce and preventing any wastage.In addition, fresh vegetables and fruits are delivered to people’s doorsteps, especially in times of Covid-19. The system is managed by members of women self-help groups using mobile apps. While developing the ecosystem and helping all stakeholders, the model helps women largely in augmenting their livelihoods.Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here.