As the Smart Cities Mission completes two years of its launch on June 25, chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday went on a foundation-stone laying spree in Bhubaneswar. Sandeep Mishra of The Telegraph finds out about the projects and what benefits they have in store for residents
Modern signalling system
Naveen (picture above) began his programme with inauguration of solar-powered smart traffic signal system at Nicco Park Square on Sachivalaya Marg. The administration will install similar signals at 58 city intersections. Its benefits include improvement of travel time reliability, smooth flow of traffic across intersections and faster response in case of emergencies. At present, the system is being implemented at five junctions on pilot basis. The total cost of the project stands at Rs 14.69 crore and the authorities are planning to complete it in the next nine months.
Smart Janpath
Naveen then went on to lay the foundation stone for the Smart Janpath project. The project aims at redeveloping the 5.5-km-long stretch between Vani Vihar Square and Sishu Bhavan Square. It will redesign the existing roadway through smart interventions with special focus on pedestrians and cyclists. Once done, the city will have proper pedestrian paths, vending zones, parking lots, speed-regulating mechanism, automatic traffic lighting system and plantation. The project will be executed for Rs 80.47 crore, and it will take 24 months for completion.
Multi-level car parking
Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited has decided to develop two multi-level parking facilities at Unit-II and at Saheed Nagar. While the facility at Unit-II will be developed over 0.972 acres, the other at Saheed Nagar will come up on 0.75 acres. The parking facility at Unit-II will have space for 450 cars, along with a commercial area of 57,000sqft. At Saheed Nagar there will be space for 250 cars and 38,000sqft of commercial area. These two places are the most visited landmarks in the city because of a number of commercial establishments operating from there. The authorities will spend Rs 46.79 crore and take 18 months to complete the project at Unit-II, while it will spend Rs 30.98 crore and take 12 months to do it at Saheed Nagar.
Public service centre
The chief minister concluded his programme by laying the foundation stone of an integrated public service centre building at Saheed Nagar.
The facility incorporates the concept of "one space, multiple use". At this facility, citizens will get a number of services, including payment of bills, dispensary, community space, local ward office, multi-purpose hall, skill centre, digital learning centre and library-cum-reading room. The building will be developed over 0.30 acres and have a built-up area of 13,084sqft. The Rs 3.5-crore project will be completed in take 12 months. Sources said similar facilities would be replicated at other parts of the city.
