Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi reviewed the progress of infrastructure development and beautification works of the city for the ensuing Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup at a high-level meeting held here on Thursday.
The matches for the World Cup would be played from November 28 to December 16.
It was decided to bring in 50 standard AC and 50 non-AC buses under City Bus Modernisation plan. The projects for renovation and construction of bus depots at Patrapada, Patia and Pokhariput were also finalised. It was targeted to expedite the tender award process and issue the letter of agreement by April 30.
Chief Secretary Padhi directed to complete the underground cabling of the road from Sishu Bhawan Chhak to Ram Mandir by October 30. Further, it was decided to construct a foot over bridge near the Kalinga Stadium for uninterrupted traffic flow and convenience of pedestrians.
Wi-Fi network coverage would be provided in all priority corridors with 75 locations and 300 access points before the World Cup. Three routes were identified as special bus routes in view of the prestigious international events. They include Route-I- from KIIT Square to lingaraj Square covering a length of 16.5 km, Route-II from Janata Maidan to the Kalinga Stadium covering a length of 2.8 km and Route-III City Tour.
It was further decided to upgrade the infrastructure in 20 places of top tourist importance in the city. The Tourism Department was asked to finalise the list by April 25.
The meeting also decided to set up additional roadside urinals and public toilets. So far, the BMC has already constructed 60 public toilets and 50 hybrid toilets across the city. It was decided to construct 60 more public toilets and 100 urinals. The urinals would be set up with prefabricated reinforced fiber materials. The Chief Secretary emphasised on proper cleaning and up-keeping of the urinals. The progress of public bicycle sharing system figured in the meeting.
Discussions revealed that around 3,500 bicycles would be available to the commuters through the project. It would be a fully-automated system with smart card provisions. It was decided to issue the letter of agreement by May 10.
Further, the meeting deliberated on organisation of city festival covering the World Cup period. The events like heritage walk, Patha Utsav, music park, storytelling, folk-art, film festival and food bazaar would be organised in the city to give rich experiences to the visitors and the tourists during the period.