Bhubaneswar was the first choice of the Union Ministry of Urban Development’s (MoUD) flagship Smart City project.  It also featured in the top 20 global cities of the world in the Global Smart City Performance Index 2017, according to a survey by the UK-based Juniper Research.

The city was a member of a list that included Singapore (that topped the list), San Francisco, London, New York, Barcelona, Berlin, Chicago, Portland and Tokyo! But now, after five years down the line, the Smart City’s raw underbelly of weak urbanisation has been exposed.  The entire basic infrastructure like roads, drains and others are creaking. Due to  ongoing much-hyped Smart Janpath project being executed at cost of Rs 277 crore, under aegis Bhubaneswar Smart Smart City Limited (BSCL) from April 2017 shows no sign of completion.Notably, City-based RKD Constructions Private Limited has been engaged as project contractor, while EGIS India Consulting Engineers Limited and Bhubaneswar Urban Knowledge Centre (BUKC) are Programme Management Consultants.   The roads on either side of the Janpath from Sishu Bhawan Square to Vani Vihar Square have been dug up at multiple places on either side. Overflowing with vehicular traffic, the incomplete construction work is putting commuters in misery. Parking continued to be a major problem on this stretch. In absence of proper planning, the ongoing project which was supposed to give a smart solution to traffic woes has worsened it. Besides, due to digging carried out by Honeywell for laying of cables many a time damaged newly laid roads by Works Department.

To make matters worse, the pits dug up by OSSW (WATCO) to improve drainage facilities have been added to miseries. During rains these large pits fill up with water and many mishaps are occurring daily as there are no signages which are part of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).These dug up pits are a nightmare for motorists as well as pedestrians alike and pose a risk for limbs and life. Besides, the CCTVs which were installed by Honeywell to provide a robust surveillance system in capital city are defunct at most of places. This is proving to be a nightmare for Traffic police to keep any eye on huge number of traffic rule offenders. The CCTVs would also help Commissionerate police to keep an eye on ant-socials and also helped them in tracking and identifying miscreants involved in various crimes in the city. Besides, Bhubaneswar is lagging behind in various other parameters required for being listed as a Smart City.

However, Honeywell project in-charge Sunit Dash said Honeywell is no longer installing CCTVs at traffic intersections and other places. The work is presently being done by BSCL. Besides, where Honeywell had dug up roads for various works they have repaired it.