BJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra inaugurates the Badagada Haat on Sunday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 28: The state government today inaugurated a market complex having six shaded platforms, six open platforms and a 3,200 square metre of open space for vendors at Badagada.

The newly-opened market will help the emerging area, which did not have a proper market of its own so far.

Sources at Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) said each of the six shaded and open platforms would be of 36 square metres. The market has a 140-metre long concrete drain to ensure better cleanliness, as the drains will ensure clearance of rainwater.

Senior Biju Janata Dal leader and Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra inaugurated the market. Housing and urban development minister Sarada Nayak was also present. The market in Badagada will help the local residents to buy their goods from a nearby area. The market is already famous for its stock of fish as earlier BMC had tied up with the fisheries department to sell fresh products of Chilika lake.

Local councillor of ward No. 49 Amaresh Jena, said: “With development of the Badagada area and the real-estate business running on in full swing, the population in the ward would go up soon. So, the market will help the people of adjacent areas. With the Daya West Canal to be converted into a two-lane canal-cum expressway from Palasuni to Garage Square, this will help the development process even more. Similarly, a bypass of NH-203 from Pandra to Lingipur near Daya bridge will also help in increasing the real-estate development. Hence, the people will be needing a bigger local market for their day-to-day needs.”

Many other projects were also launched on the first day of the inauguration spree for Local Self Government Day to be celebrated on August 31.

City engineer T.B.K. Shroff said: “A drinking water project was also launched in Patia village under ward No. 2. The Rs 40-lakh programme having a pipeline of 2.4km and 40 stand posts would cover a population of 3,200.”

Patia is also an emerging housing area in the city where concentration of educational institutions is the maximum. A road from Sriya Square to Sachivalay Marg was also renamed as Prananath Road today.

The four-day extravaganza of inaugurations and new projects will include several other projects across the 60 wards within the BMC area. Tomorrow there will an inauguration of street lighting project from Kalpana to Buddheswari Temple and a high mast light at Kalpana Square. Similarly, a street lighting project between State Museum and Ravi Talkies Square, a foundation stone laying ceremony for foot over bridges at two places — RD Women’s Collage and Jayadev Vihar — street lighting projects between Gopabandhu Square and Governor’s House and Acharya Vihar and Press Square on Sainik School and Kalinga Hospital Square are slated for Tuesday.

On Wednesday, a statue of Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati of Paralakhmundi would be unveiled at AG Square along with a beautiful landscaping in front of the Secretariat. A mechanised sweeping vehicle costing Rs 50 lakh will also be used for the first time in BMC and a demo will be held on the Sachivalaya Marg on the occasion.