The public works department has started putting various measures in place to ensure the safety of commuters and pedestrians on the city roads in view of the upcoming Men’s Hockey World Cup scheduled to be held later this month.
The work started with the state government giving a go ahead to the department by sanctioning as many as 47 projects that include painting of the medians, intersections, dividing and zebra lines, stop marks, installation of speed breakers and various signage on the roads.
The state government has approved spending of Rs 13.62 crore for all the projects that will be executed at almost all parts of the city. “The work had started a month ago with the available budget, keeping the tight timeframe in mind,” said a department official.
The important roads, where the projects are being executed, are Sachivalaya Marg, Bidyut Marg, Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan Road, Ekamra Marg, Gopabandhu Marg, Madhusudan Marg, Kalinga Studio to Sum Hospital Square, Chandaka Road, Omfed to Press Chhak and Acharya Vihar Square to Nalco Square among others.
“We have repaired almost all roads in the city. Post-repair, the zebra lines and stop marks vanished. Those need to be painted back as part of the road safety features, and it is being done now. All work will be over by the third week of this month,” said works department chief engineer (road) O.P. Patel.
In another development, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has taken up a different job to paint the electric and traffic poles. It has also started repairing the internal roads as well as fixing and repairing street lights for the mega hockey event.
“The city will wear a new look for the hockey world cup. We are putting all our efforts to improve infrastructure and services of the city with an aim to give a lasting impression to the visitors during the event. All work is going on in full swing and will meet their respective deadlines,” said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.
Bhoi Nagar resident Ritesh Majhi said the administration’s efforts must be lauded as the city had indeed undergone a major transformation for the international sports event. “This is indeed a great pride to host such an event, and the administration is doing it in the right spirit. It should continue even after the event,” said Majhi.
Cash loot
An unidentified bike-borne criminal allegedly looted Rs 5.15 lakh from a businessman in Malgodown area in Cuttack on Thursday.
