A wall painting revived by the BK College of Arts on the AG Square-Raj Bhavan Square stretch. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, June 15: After planning a beautification drive from the new domestic terminal building at Biju Patnaik Airport up to KIIT University, the state government is likely to take up some more stretches for improving their looks and civic amenities.

Pavements on some of these stretches would be beautified with wave-pattern tiles, following the style of Brazilian landscape architect and conservationist Roberto Burle Marx.

While the new stretches will include a circular road from AG Square to Rabindra Mandap Square via Raj Bhavan Square and 120 Infantry Battalion. The area would also be landscaped with medians. Wall murals would also be seen on these stretches.

In addition on the 120-Battalion-Rabindra Mandap Square stretch, drain development work will be taken up on a priority basis because the offices of the commissionerate police and 120 Battalion here still suffer from problems of waterlogging.

Municipal commissioner Vishal Kumar Dev said: “For the first time, the city will be beautified with the wave-pattern design of Burle. Pavements and landscapes will also follow a similar pattern with the use of selected pebbles, plants, grass and stones.”

The state government is planning to have such design at the entrance of Ekamra Haat, the space at the entrance of Bhubaneswar railway station and Indira Gandhi Park. While the Ekamra Haat plan will be taken care of by the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) will take care of the other two. Sources said the first meeting on the city’s beautification was held on April 16 and two more were held on April 25 and June 12, which were attended by representatives of BDA and the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. It was also decided that the BDA would float a tender to select the architects, planning firms and urban design firms for the stretch between the new airport terminal building and Ekamra Square.

The stretch will include water cascade, paintings, signature murals, sculptors and supportive beautifying elements. Between Ekamra Square and AG Square, the work has already been started by Jagruti, the organisation involved in solid waste disposal. BDA will replace the grills and other iron structures along the road.

Between AG Square and Raj Bhavan Square, BK College of Arts has taken up the work of reviving wall paintings, which were lying neglected for years. The work was done during 2008-2009 when the BMC took up the renovation for the first time in the city.

“Both the development authority and civic body should keep an eye on the maintenance work,” said urban management practitioner Piyush Ranjan Rout, adding that many such projects in the past had already lost their identity because of the lack of proper maintenance.