Bhubaneswar, June 20: The city administration has planned an array of initiatives for Patha Utsav from the coming Sunday to woo people to attend the Asian Athletics Championship. The city will host the games from July 6 to July 9.

After the official announcement of the games by chief minister Naveen Patnaik on the coming Patha Utsav, the city administration will take up special citizen connect programmes at various schools, colleges and other institutions. The campaign will continue till July 2.

"The citizen connect campaigns will be held from June 25 to July 2. We plan to cover all schools, colleges, educational institutions, IT companies and major corporate houses with a series of interactive sessions at multiple locations in the city on all these days," Bhubaneswar Development Authority vice-chairman Krishan Kumar said today.

The administration plans to launch a special campaign on television and radio from tomorrow. Besides, flags of all 45 countries taking part in the games will be displayed at multiple locations in the city, including Janpath and Bidyut Marg. The authorities have come up with the final plan after a meeting chaired by sports secretary Vishal Dev, Krishan Kumar and sports director Vineel Krishna.

"We have decided to start the campaign from the coming Patha Utsav and also use the platform to popularise the upcoming sport event. We will put up 'selfie with Olly zones', distribute Olly masks, conduct athletic quiz, thematic drawing and painting competitions on athletics and storytelling sessions on 45 participating nations," said Kumar, adding that "Walk with Olly" would be one of the major attractions at the Patha Utsav.

Schools and IT companies will have this special programme called "Walk with Olly" in which the mascot of the game, Olly, will come to the venue from various campuses. Cut-outs of Olly and inflated models of the mascot will be displayed at the venue of Patha Utsav to attract crowds. "We want to undertake all-round efforts to make this grand sports event a success," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

In another development, an inspiring video has already made a mark on Asian Athletics Championship with elements on Odisha's wildlife, culture, diversities and beauty captured in a striking way.

"This is a great move. This is also a chance for the city to attract tourists to the state by displaying its potential," said Premananda Tripathy, a resident of Saheed Nagar.