Bhubaneswar to get new look ahead of Men's Hockey World Cup

With less than 90 days for the Hockey Mens World Cup to begin at the Kalinga Stadium here, a series of projects have been lined up to give the Smart City a new look within two months, city Mayor A N Jena said today.

The mega sports event will be held here from November 28 to December 16.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Local Self Governance Day celebrations here, Jena said that Bhubaneswar will be completely Wi-Fi enabled before the international event.

"City-wide Wi-Fi will be ready by the end of October and the network will be accessible at 300 points across the state capital," he said.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Bhubaneswar Development Authority and Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) have drawn up plans to give the city a refurbished look before the sporting series.

The CRUT has planned to build 200 bus shelters at an investment of Rs 20 crore. There will be two bus depots at Patrapada and Patia in the city.

By November, more than 100 city buses will be introduced to facilitate commuters and the number of buses will be increased on low-frequency routes, an official said.

Mechanical sweeping will be taken up by two agencies along a 80-km stretch of road leading to the stadium, the official said.

Hoardings and flex billboards will be pulled down and the roads will be made free of encroachments, he said.

The BDA has taken up plantation and development of medians and ornamentation along the major roads.

Street Art and Mural Project (STAMP) will be taken up by the BMC to beautify the city for which selection or panel preparation will be finalised by September 5.