Rourkela: The new CEO of the city's smart initiative, Rashmita Panda, has set her priority areas after taking charge.

"I have started a topographic survey so that I can concentrate on the focus areas," she said.

Panda said she would start by developing theme parks in the first phase. "There will be a few parks, including the Chhend Central Park, which will be completely developed."

She wants the vast Chhend Central Park to have a botanical theme. Promoting the local cultural heritage with emphasis on the rich tribal culture, fitness as a multifaceted activity, yoga corner, and extreme greenery are also on her agenda.

"We will finalise the tender process after selecting the parks by the first week of February," Panda, also the commissioner of the Rourkela Smart City Limited, said.

Panda also wants to develop infrastructure for sports. "The indoor stadium at Panposh, along with some design changes for fire safety, will be completed in time," she said. It will have three badminton courts, a tennis court and volley and basketball facilities. "There will be facilities for archery for local talents, football and cricket at Bisra Stadium." The indoor stadium will have facilities for underground parking, while a parking space will be carved out at Bisra Stadium.

The initial work on the multi-facility complex - One Stop Rourkela - will begin shortly once the detailed project report is completed. "The complex will have a skill development centre, an auditorium, a convention centre, multi-level car park and command centre."

Work on the command centre will take two to three years. "The command centre is a unified monitoring centre from where all smart city activities and that of the municipality could be managed through IT integration," she said.

Panda's other priority is traffic and road safety. "These two are integral part of the smart city project and I am on the verge of finalising space for a multi-level parking system."

Her strategy is to concentrate on high priority jobs in the shortest possible time. "The residents must have a feeling that work on smart city has begun and then we will go for bigger projects," she said.

Work on the Brahmani riverfront will also begin, initially over 3km from Brahmani Club, and will have facilities for arts and crafts, shops and recreation.

"The beautification of the DAV Pond is going to be taken up so that it can become a tourist attraction," she said.