Envisioning the 150 km radius around Bhubaneswar in 20 years
Angul, Anugul- Talcher - Saranga- Nalconagar, Balasore, Balasore- Chandipur, Berhampur- Gopalpur- Chhatrapur, Bhadrakh, Bhubaneswar and vicinity, Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Cuttack, Dhamara- Chandbali- Bhitarakanika, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Jajpur Rd- Vyasanagar- Duburi- Kalinganagar, Khordha, Paradip - Jatadhari - Kujanga, Puri June 17th. 2010, 7:43pmIn 20 years (i.e., in 2030) the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Khurda population would be around 4 million plus. In addition the area would be surrounded by the following cities/towns within 150 kms radius (i.e., about a hour and half away).
- Berhampur-Gopalpur to the south (with a then population of 1.5 million; about 145 kms away)
- Puri to the south (with a then population of 700K; only 30kms away)
- Kalinganagar to the North (with a then population of 500K; only 50 kms away)
- Talcher-Angul to the West (with a then population of 500K; only 110 kms away)
- Dhenkanal to the west (with a then population of 200K and almost in the periphery)
- Paradip to the east (with a then population of 400K and 90 kms away)
- Dhamara-Chandbali to the Northeast (with a then population of 200K and 140 kms away)
- Bhadrak to the North (with a then population of 200K and 140 kms away)
A little farther is
- Balasore-Chandipur to the North (with a then population of 300K and 162 kms away from the Northern end of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Khurda area)
In addition there will be several port towns other than the ones mentioned above and a few smaller towns (For example, Nayagarh) within 200km radius of greater Bhubaneswar.
Besides individual CDPs for these areas the Odisha governement should start making plans for this larger overall area. It would form a different kind of megalopolis than New Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata with a well planned hub (Bhubaneswar) surrounded by mini-hubs and with rural areas in between. I can not off-hand think of another such area in the world; may be the readers can point me to some. Please suggest what kind of plans need to be made. (Please note that for something to be up and running in 20 years, plans need to be made now.) For example:
- Commuter trains at frequent intervals and the necessary infrastructure for that. Following are some of the segments
- Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark-Astaranga (Puri-Konark-Astaranga needs to be built; alternatively if Astaranga port comes up, then there may be a new line from Barang to Astaranga)
- Bhubaneswar-Berhampur-Gopalpur (Berhampur-Gopalpur needs to be built)
- Bhubaneswar-Jajpur Rd(Kalinganagar)-Bhadrak-Dhamara (Bhadrak-Dhamara is ready but no trains yet)
- Bhubaneswar-Jajpur Rd(Kalinganagar)-Bhadrak-Balasore-Baripada
- Bhubaneswar-Jakhapura(Kalinganagar)-Tomka (on the line to Kendujhargarh)
- Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Paradeep (ready)
- Bhubaneswar-Dhenkanal-Talcher-Angul (ready)
- Bhubaneswar-Khurda-Nayagarh and beyond (being constructed; part of Khurda-Balangir)
- Angul-Talcher-Sukinda-Kalinganagar (being constructed)
- Expressways linking these places
- Fast buses linking these places
- Fast airport shuttle
- Some of these places would be connected by waterways including National Waterway 5
- Express ring road around each of these places
- Co-ordinated public transport in each of these places
- ??
Please let your imagination run wild!
June 18th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
One metropolitan area similar to what is being envisioned is the Rhine Ruhr metropolitan area of Germany – refer this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine-Ruhr . This area is actually made up of many cities and towns separated from each other but in a zone of 100 kms by 70 kms. Something of this sort would be a good idea.
June 18th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
Thanks.
June 19th, 2010 at 6:14 am
Whether Govt does something or not on their own will be irrelevant.Private sector will force them to.
Let’s hope that “Kra Isthmus” materializes.I have a strong feeling it will.And when it does Orissa coast will emerge as the most happening trading hub in Indian subcontinent.Even otherwise I expect Odisha coast to be a massive player in trade with rest of the world and particularly with ASEAN countries and CHINA.
Last 5 thousand year of history has been favorable for west coast.Expect next few thousand years to belong to east coast in general and Orissa in particular.
This is how one should play it.If one is living in interior of Orissa, pack your bags and move to coastal areas.Because that’s where action will be.If one were to make a real estate bet don’t buy an apartment in Bangalore.Buy a piece of land in Orissa coast.You buy undervalued assets not the overvalued ones.
Kalinga will rise again.It will happen.And so will fortunes of Kalingas.
June 20th, 2010 at 8:53 pm
what about ‘RUHR of India” Region i.e. Chotanagpur plateau region
including Rourkela,Sundargarh,Jharsuguda
Sir can plz make a plan something like this for the above mentioned region?
June 21st, 2010 at 2:09 am
A similar plan for a BERHAMPUR-(RAYAGADA/PHULBANI/BHAWANIPATNA)-KORAPUT-JEYPORE cluster will be a good idea as this belt has consistently fallen behind and except Berhampur which caters to rural Ganjam and Gajapati rest all have very poor road and railway infrastructure. Development of Gopalpur can have profound impact on this entire region of South and South-Western Orissa. The fast completion of Ranchi-Vijaywada High way, Developing NH-217 (Gopalpur-Raipur)as a special project, Sambalpur-Berhampur railway connectivity and higher education clusters at Berhampur, Koraput and Bhawanipatna can certainly change the face of this most under developed region of India.