Patna, Feb. 15: What does it take for a city to get clean? Not a pro-active municipal corporation but a surfeit of VIP visits.

Bihar’s capital had never been cleaner than it has been in the past 10 days. It all started when former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam visited Patna last week. Kalam, the first VIP visitor to the Nalanda university coming up at Rajgir, spent just a few hours in the city on February 8.

The 6km stretch of road from Dak Bangla Square to Rajbanshi Nagar near the chief minister’s official residence received a coat of concrete and tar. The nerve centre of the capital, which became worn out after last year’s rains, has been repaired and widened, at least 4km of it, because it’s a VIP route.

Today’s visit by President Pratibha Patil has ensured that the wooden central verge on Bailey Road is painted. Several workers have been working overtime to get the job done.

While a senior government official called it a routine “clean up” before a VIP’s visit, Patna residents wished roads were spruced up at regular intervals rather than on token occasions. Vinay Singh, an advocate at Patna High Court, said: “Only the surfeit of VIPs make government work fast. Contractors seldom show such promptness in normal cases.”

Singh and the likes of him can now look forward to smart roads for at least one more week, as the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navinchandra Ramgoolam, is slated to visit Bihar for a three-day visit on February 18. Exhibition Road, Fraser Road and roads near Gandhi Maidan have been also cleaned up and repaired ahead of his visit.