Things that Bhubaneswar needs (TOI)
Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri March 26th. 2011, 1:56pmFollowing is from an article in Times of India.
From being a sleepy state capital housing government babus, Bhubaneswar has gone on to become one of the fastest growing tier two cities in the country. But it still lacks many key traits of a modern urban centre, including infrastructure and civic amenities. Here, TOI takes a look at the hurdles that stand in the way of the city of temples acquiring the tag of a cosmopolitan city.
Commuting CHAOS
The public transport system is in a deplorable state. Travelling by public transport is a nightmare most people try to avoid if they can afford their own vehicle. Overcrowded shared autorickshaws on some fixed routes are the mainstay of intra-city commuting. In October 2010, 60 buses started operating under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in Bhubaneswar.
But given the huge rush of daily commuters, these are too less in number. "The city should have a good mass transport facility including a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) and train services should be started within the city and on its outskirts," said N K Panda, former chief secretary and president of the Citizens’ Apex Association.
RITES, a central government enterprise and consultancy organisation, has been working on a detailed project report for a BRTS in Bhubaneshwar. Notably, Ahmedabad and Delhi already have such systems.
The Perspective Plan Vision 2030 of the Orissa government for a Bhubaneswar-Cuttack urban complex over an area of 720 square km suggests circular trains for cheaper mass transport within urban areas. "The transport facilities in the city have improved a lot in the last few years, though much more needs to be done," said mayor Anant Narayan Jena.
No multiplexes in sight
Multiplexes are proliferating by the dozen not only in metros but also in comparatively smaller cities like Jaipur and Chandigarh. But Bhubaneswar is yet to get its first multiplex cinema. Though around 20 shopping malls have come up here over the past 10 years, none of them have multiple cinema screens as yet.
"It is surprising that the city is yet to get a multiplex. Even cities like Hyderabad, Guwahati, Gurgaon and Noida have multiple-screen halls, and more than one," said Bibekananda Mohanty, an IT professional.
Real estate developers say it is a matter of less than a year before the city gets its first multiplex. "At least five multiplexes are in the offing. One in Saheed Nagar would be completed in a year’s time," said Real Estate Developers Association (REDA) president Anup Kumar Mohapatra.
international airport yet to take off
The state doesn’t have an international airport. The nearest international airport from Bhubaneswar is 500 km away, in Kolkata. Airports Authority of India (AAI) in July 2006 had announced it would build an integrated international airport complex in the city. It was supposed to upgrade the existing Biju Patnaik airport by investing Rs 250 crore. The project was to be finished by 2010. But sources said the government is yet to finalize land for the airport.
"Without an international airport, we can’t aspire to be even among the top 50 cities in the country," said professor P K Jena, chairman of Institute of Advance Technology and Environmental Studies (IATES).
Where does one unwind?
Unless you are the kind of person who enjoys your day out in cramped parks, the city would be an exceptionally dull place for you.
A sizable population of the work-force toils round the clock, working all kinds of long and late hours. But nightlife in the city leaves a lot to ask for. There are less than 10 discotheques and pubs, mostly in hotels. There are even fewer clubs and restaurants offering good quality wining and dining. The city doesn’t even have good food courts.
"There is just a handful of hangout places with good music and DJs. The option are very limited," said Upasana Roy, a management student.
Things are, however, changing fast, claim the administrative authorities. "There were no discos and nightclubs at all a few years ago and now we at least have some. The city is developing fast and entertainment options are increasing," said BDA planning member Prashant Patnaik.
No convention centres
There are no hotels or standalone establishments in the city offering convention centres with good facilities to host multiple national or international events. There are two conference halls where most of the events take place one is in a hotel near Jaydev Vihar and the other at KIIT University. But these venues have limitations and events inviting large crowds cannot be held in them.
Bhubaneswar, however, doesn’t seem to getting such a facility in a hurry. "Its true the city needs a large convention centre, but BDA currently has other priorities," said BDA vice-president Deoranjan Kumar Singh.
Healthcare not up to the mark
A large number of patients from Bhubaneswar are forced to go to cities such as Chennai, Vellore, Hyderabad and Mumbai for advanced treatment. This, despite the fact that the city boasts a good presence of corporate hospitals: Kalinga Hospital, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Apollo Hospital, Sparsh Hospital and Hemalata Hospital.
"Before 2000, the city had few tertiary care hospitals. The decade from 2000 to 2010 is when most of these hospitals were established. The number of patients going to other cities for treatment has been reducing gradually. By 2020, the city will have ample medical tourists from outside the state," said Dr G Biswas, a medical oncologist at Sparsh Hospital.
In the offing in Bhubaneswar are All India Institute of Medical Sciences; a 978-bed hospital under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana with 15 super-speciality and 18 speciality wards; a 300-bed hospital by AMRI group; and another heart-care hospital by Naryana Hrudayalaya.
When I get time I will give my perspective on the above issues as well as other needs for Bhubaneswar. Stay tuned.
March 27th, 2011 at 2:26 am
Indirect requirement -: The city needs a feeder population. This implies decent connectivity with most parts of the Interiors. Places like Balangir, Kalanhandi,Malkangiri need direct network connectivity to bhubaneswar. I imply trains.
This will take things forward in a major way.
@Chitta babu,
Perhaps, you should implement facebook likes and dislikes along with facebook comenting now. If you need technical help, I will be happy to do this.
March 27th, 2011 at 2:27 am
Indirect requirement -: The city needs a feeder population. This implies decent connectivity with most parts of the Interiors. Places like Balangir, Kalanhandi,Malkangiri need direct network connectivity to bhubaneswar. I imply trains,
March 27th, 2011 at 10:16 am
I added facebook like.
Let me see if I can add facebook commenting.
March 27th, 2011 at 10:43 am
I am glad the article started off with the issue of transportation. Bhubaneswar is yet a growing city and if it is able to plan ahead by having wide roads (think NYC) and BRTS corridors like in Ahmedabad – I think it is called Janmarg ( http://www.embarq.org/en/project/ahmedabad-janmarg ) then it would avoid many of the problems faced by cities such as Bangalore. A couple of days back I just read in passing that Bhubaneswar is one of the few cities in India that has dedicated cycling corridors on its roads. Full marks to this initiative of the government. The idea should be to build a sustainable city (BTW, American cities with some exceptions are terrible examples of sustainable cities.) . Let us not think of being clones of Bangalore and other Indian cities. It is time to get inspiration from the likes of Singapore, Melbourne and cities that make it regularly to the list of the most liveable cities in the world.
For those who are interested here are the numbers of the Citizens Apex Association of Bhubaneswar. ( I haven’t checked whether they are working though)
http://rti.railnet.gov.in/rtidata/scanned/5426.pdf.
I really wish they would have some kind of a web presence.
March 30th, 2011 at 7:41 am
Something I have noticed as a unique aspect of Bhubaneswar’s development is that the Government is keen to create the necessary infrastructure and then plan out the development. For example, the planning and laying out of multiple lane roads. Areas like Sundarapada, Pokhariput, Kapil Prasad, Khandagiri among others, boast of excellent road infrastructure. Otherwise considered to be sleepy suburbs of the city, the refurbished road network has started the process of growth here. If Odisha Government could sustain this model of creating infrastructure and then pursuing growth, it will a distinct China-like approach, quite unlike any other Indian city.
The recetly launched City Bus Service is an excellent push to some semblance of public transport, which was hitherto non-existent. However, routes need to be planned out well and interconnectivity between the routes is also important. Though a dedicated Metro rail connectivity may not be the solution, the Governemnt could work towards having a Monorail or skybus network across the city. This will be more cost effective. Besides helping the city’s dwellers, an efficient public transport system sould work wonders for its tourism potential as well. Singapore’s ultra efficient public transport system caters to its domestic needs and acts like a life-saver for the scores of tourists and business travellers that it gets.
April 14th, 2011 at 2:23 am
I dont completely agree with the article actually. I dont think the situation of health care is that bad. Considering a population of about 20-25lakh in the BBSR-CTC UA, the number of hospitals and good quality hospitals is quite decent. And with time this is improving.
As for no-convention centres, this has completely stumped me. Bhubanswar with its great connectivity, and nearby tourist places is one of the top convention spots in the country. Almost all major hotels have dedicated convention centers today. Other than that large pvt universities like KIIT, SOA and KEC are also improving their facilities. KIIT is also set to host India’s largest conference, the Indian Science Congress, which attracts close 5000 delegates from all over the country.
As for the international airport, I still don’t think this is a major necessity, though we definitely need a better airport, one which should be ready to handle wide-body aircraft within a few years time. For now we have great connectivity with 2 major international airports of the country, IGI Airport and NSCB International Airport. There are 5 flights a day to both these airports from where you can easily catch a connecting flight to anywhere in the world.
The only two points that I agree with are the lack of proper night-life and entertainment facilities for the large student population and the growing young working population, and also the serious requirement of public transport.
One thing about multiplexes in BBSR is actually the very high amount of taxes that the GoO takes up in the ticket prices for movies. Of a 60rs ticket in a standard hall in BBSR, a good 30bucks is taken away by the govt, which discourages firms from opening multiplexes in the city. This when much smaller towns have already started getting multiplexes. If the govt reduces this tax, then I am sure we will have atleast 10 multiplex screens in our city within a year.
As for public transport, a modest beginning has been made. But we need a lot more buses on a lot more routes. The idea should be to over supply right now, so that a culture of travelling by bus develops among the people. This requires two things, a high frequency of buses and high comfort and speed of travel in those buses. The major advantage of auto is you dont have to wait for too long to catch one. If I am standing at a bus stop waiting for 10mins for a bus, while 2-3 autos have already come and gone within that period, I will be seriously frustrated. Thus we should have buses within 5 mins of each other on major roads, running on scheduled times. Also, the car or bike rider, gets much better comfort and speed of transport. To attract them, I think the city should start introducing at a small level high comfort AC buses, running at slightly higher speeds than the standard buses. This will help attract the car and bike owners to shift over to buses for their regular commute. This will also help to immensely decongest the over-crowded streets of BBSR. One other thing, with the introduction of Hybrid-buses in India, BBSR should seriously consider introducing a fleet of about 15-20 AC-Hybrid buses on the route between Airport and Nandankanan.