Bhubaneswar, Aug. 27: The municipal corporation has decided to inaugurate a kalyan mandap (banquet hall) and three community centres at various parts of the city on August 31, which is celebrated as Local Self-government Day.

The kalyan mandap will come up at Unit-VI and the community centres at Nayapalli Sabar Sahi, Baratpur and Ward No. 1. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has spent Rs 1.76 crore for the construction of these facilities.

"With new community centres and the banquet hall, residents will have better options to organise welfare and recreational activities. The kalyan mandap at Unit-VI was a long standing demand of the people and we have kept our promise," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

A Unit-VI resident Banka Bohidar, a schoolteacher, said there were no banquet halls in their area earlier. "The civic body laid the foundation stone of the kalyan mandap last year and they have completed the work on war footing," Bohidar said.

At present, there are seven kalyan mandaps and three major community centres under the municipal corporation and with the opening of the new centres, the number will increase to 14. These centres are generally used for conducting marriages, parties, community meetings and other activities.

"Private banquet halls in the city are often expensive and beyond the reach of the middle class. But the ones run by the civic body are affordable and most of them are in good condition. Besides, the civic body also provides facilities, including water supply and others," said Patrapada resident Hemant Mishra.

The civic body has also decided to lay the foundation stone for one more community centre at BDA Colony in   Chandrasekharpur on August 31. "The new community centre will come up for Rs 28 lakh. The tender has been awarded and the work will be completed in the next six months," said a civic body official.