Bhubaneswar audioBhubaneshwar.oggpronunciation (lang-or?????????) is the capital city of the Indian state (States and territories of India) of Orissa. Its the second largest city of Orissa after old capital Cuttack(Cuttack City was expanded to 398 sq km in the year 2008 just before General Elections and CMC Elections),once the capital of ancient Kalinga (Kalinga (India)), the city has a long history of 3000 yearsCitation neededdate=September 2009 and is today a center of economic and religious importance. Historically Bhubaneswar has been known by different names such as Toshali, Kalinga Nagari, Nagar Kalinga, Ekamra Kanan, Ekamra Khetra and Mandira Malinya Nagari. The modern city of Bhubaneswar was designed by the German architect Otto K�nigsberger in 1946. It became the political capital of the state of Odisha in 1948, a year after India gained its independence from Britain (United Kingdom). Before Bhubaneswar, Cuttack was the capital of Odisha until 1947. Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are together known as the "twin cities" of Odisha. As per a comprehensive development plan prepared by IIT Kharagpur, the metropolitan area formed by the twin cities has a 2008 population of 1.9 million. The World gazetteer has the metro area population estimated at 1,666,429 making it the 22nd largest urban centre in the country. With its large number of Hindu temples, Bhubaneswar is often referred to as a Temple City of India. These temples span the entire history of Kalinga architecture. It is one of the cleanest and planned city of Modern India. Bhubaneswar comes under the category of tier 2 cities of India . It is an emerging IT hub and one of the fastest developing cities of India in recent years. Known as the temple city of India, the city boasts of having around 600 temples. The city is surrounded by dense canopy of forests, picturesque chandaka and nandankanan makes it one of the cleanest and greenest city of India next to Chandigarh. "Progress with Partnership" has been the recent motto of the BMC. Its unique sculptural and architectural heritage, coupled with the sanctity as Ekamrakshetra make this one of the five greatCitation neededdate=September 2009 religious centres of Odisha since early medieval days.R. P. Mohapatra, Archaeology in Orissa, Vol I, Page 47, B. R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi, 1986, ISBN 81-7018-346-4