MUMBAI: A delegation of 15 BJP youth functionaries, most of them BMC Corporators, left for a week-long study tour to Israel on Saturday.The delegation will travel to multiple cities including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.The visit has been organised by the Consulate General of Israel in Mumbai. Corporators are expected to visit and study smart city initiatives, water management solutions and traffic management.BJP Corporators Rohan Rathod, Sayali Kulkarni, Pratik Karpe and Tajinder Tiwana are part of the delegation among others.“It’s a good opportunity provided by the Israeli government for our young leaders to study smart city initiatives, water management solutions, geo politics and security solutions. I am sure this will be an enriching experience for our young leaders who will utilise this experience for the betterment and development of Mumbai,” said Mumbai BJP chief MLA Ameet Satam.Consul General of Israel in Mumbai, Yaniv Revach hosted a farewell reception for the delegation last week.“I am glad to extend my best wishes to the 15 youth leaders of BJP Mumbai who are set to begin their week-long journey to Israel as part of a delegation visit organised by the Consulate General of Israel to Midwest India. I hope they will have a safe and fruitful visit,” Revach said in a post on X.Officials said Israel is a global leader in managing dense populations, acute resource scarcity, and smart urban infrastructure under challenging conditions.BJP Corporator Rohan Rathod said, “Given Mumbai’s immense population pressure and the challenge of balancing seasonal monsoon abundance with summer shortages, Israel’s water ecosystem is highly relevant. Israel recycles close to 90% of its wastewater, primarily using it for secondary purposes like irrigation. So we will try and study how to integrate localized water reclamation centers to reduce the burden on Mumbai’s freshwater lakes.““Israel leverages acoustic sensors and data analytics to identify micro-leaks in underground pipeline networks before they cause major bursts or sinkholes. Adopting these technologies could drastically curb Mumbai’s non-revenue water,” he added.Officials pointed out that Tel Aviv has a ‘DigiTel Model’, which is a personalized resident platform.The system uses location-based data to update citizens on local road closures, ward-level updates, and civic emergencies while allowing residents to report issues (like potholes or broken pipes) directly to municipal workers for real-time tracking.Israel uses dynamic traffic and parking management which utilizes AI-driven traffic management networks that dynamically adjust traffic light cycles based on real-time vehicle flow.Studying their integrated parking applications, which direct drivers to open parking spots, could help ease Mumbai’s congested commercial zones.
