Bhubaneswar, June 23: The efforts of the administration to beautify the city ahead of the upcoming Asian Athletics Championship face a fresh challenge with street-vendors continuing to encroach on the pedestrian paths, which cover the recently painted walls around Raj Mahal Square.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) along with Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has taken up the city beautification drive ahead of the grand sports event to be held from July 6 and had started painting the city walls with sports- and city-themed graffiti.

Accordingly, Raj Mahal Flyover was painted in a manner so as to depict the urban dynamics of the state capital. Under the flyover, the administration has taken a landscaping work of the roundabout while the walls of the government quarters located in this area have been painted.

However, soon after the painting job gets completed on a particular wall, vendors who were earlier evicted for the drive, reappeared and put up their makeshift shops over the footpath and blocked the view of the citizens who were enjoying the beautiful paintings. This area houses many important public figures including mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

The Telegraph found that the encroachment of the footpath outside the mayor's house is rampant. The boundary walls of his official residence have also been painted with graffiti, but the work has not disappeared as the vendors are blocking to display their items. A vendor said they had been doing business here for a long time and under no condition would they leave.

"This is our place. We have been doing business here for a very long time. If they evict us, where will we go and earn money for our family? They should give us an alternative and feasible site for doing business otherwise we have no option than encroach on these footpaths," said Jagannath Sahoo, a fruit seller here.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said they were undertaking drives to evict such vendors who are doing business covering the paintings on the boundary walls. "We do have a special squad for eviction of such encroachment. We have already evicted some of them near Kalinga Stadium. Now we will shift our focus to Raj Mahal Square," said Jena.

Besides, boundary walls of the government quarters situated on the entire stretch from Sishu Bhawan Square to Raj Mahal Square is another victim to such encroachment. The operators of brass bands and orchestra parties for the weddings have set up their makeshift shops here. This stretch is also home to top bureaucrats. Citizens were concerned over the encroachment and said this would negatively impact the image of the city.

"It is evident that the city administration is making all-round efforts to present the city in a grand for the upcoming games. But their efforts will come to nothing if they don't have a proper mechanism in place. Such encroachment, which hides the beautiful paintings, should not be allowed and removed as a priority," said Binod Mohanty, a resident of Unit II.

Games approach

The countdown has begun for the Asian Athletics Championships scheduled to begin here from July 6.

Sports and youth service minister today said elaborate arrangements had been made for successful conduct of the international event. "The government is leaving no stone unturned for the successful conduct of the games," said Behera after a review of the preparations.

Chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi emphasised on the safety, security and convenience of the athletes and directed the Central Electricity Supply Utility (Cesu) and electrical engineers to conduct safety audit of the electrical installations made in the stadium and ensure 100 per cent safety.

The twin cities police were advised to issue traffic advisories well in advance so that general citizens of the state capital do not face any inconvenience while commuting. It was resolved at the meeting that the cops would make appropriate security arrangements at the stadium, transit points and stay venues of the players and officials.

Minister Behera also advised the officials to ensure supply of safe food and safe water for all the athletes, officials and delegates.

Sports and youth services secretary Vishal Dev said: "As of now, athletes from 45 countries have registered their participation. So far, 1104 entries have been registered. Out of them, 815 are athletes and 281 are officials. Among the registered athletes, 505 are men and 310 are women."

The teams from Saarc countries will arrive by June 25 and athletes/ officials and delegates from various other countries will arrive starting from July 2. The council meeting will be held on July 4 to be followed by an award function on the same day. The opening ceremony will be held on July 5. Various track, run and throw events will be played from July 6 to 9. The closing ceremony will be held on July 9.

Reception desks will be set up at six major transit airports and special reception arrangements will be made at Bhubaneswar airport and railway station.

Dev said around 1,080 rooms have been reserved in major hotels and guest houses for accommodation of the guests. Two medical control rooms - one at Kalinga Stadium and the other at Capital Hospital - will be made functional from July 1 to 11. Four private hospitals have been selected to provide medical services at the stadium and places of stay. The total budget for the event has been estimated at around Rs 30.84 crore

President of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) Adille Sumariwala, secretary general C.K. Valson, and senior officials of various state government departments participated in the discussions.