A preparatory meeting on Patha Utsav was held by additional commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday to finalise the events, schedule and details of the street fest.

As per the decision, the first edition of Raahgiri will be organised on Janpath on December 24. The next editions will be held in Ekamra and Patia on January 7 and January 21 respectively.

This time, the BMC is planning to organise the event on a bigger scale with additional activities. There will be workshops, games, cultural shows and live events. Plans are also afoot to include various contests like painting.

“Two firms have submitted their proposals with presentations to the BMC. A team of experts will review the proposals and take a decision,” said a senior official of the civic body.

For first time, a ‘Kids Zone’ will be part of the festival for the children. There will also be ‘Pets Zone’ where people can showcase the talents of their pets. Besides, an ‘Old Age Zone’ will be created for entertainment and physical exercise of senior citizens.

Since the first edition will be held on the eve of Christmas, Santa Claus will entertain the children and various baked items of millet will be on sale during the event which will continue from 6.30 am to 9.30 am on Sundays.

Chairing a high-level meeting in Bhubaneswar, Pandian observed that Daya river gets polluted as the Gangua nullah, which carries the city’s wastewater, flows into it.

It was decided at the meeting that a treatment plant with advanced technology would be constructed by WATCO at the confluence of Daya and Gangua to purify the water of the river, official sources said.

With the dumping of waste and release of untreated water in stormwater channels, Gangua nullah gets highly polluted. As a result, pollution in Daya River is getting worse in the capital city.

Pandian asked all the agencies concerned including Urban Development Department, BMC, WATCO and SPCB to take action in this regard.

Necessary steps will also be taken to prevent the release of industrial waste and biomedical waste to drains.

The meeting decided to make it mandatory to connect the contaminated water of various institutions in BMC area with the sewerage line. Along with this, Pandian also directed to create awareness in the direction that all the houses of BMC can be connected to the sewerage line as soon as possible. In Bhubaneswar, sewerage work is being carried out in various areas by WATCO.

Pandian opined that there would not be any inconvenience to the public if they work in coordination with various agencies and speed up the sewerage work and complete it within the stipulated time frame.

As the state capital has different industries, reegular inspections will be conducted by IDCO, SPCB and BMC to ensure proper treatment of their waste and water.

According to reports, a police complaint has been lodged against Bigyan Construction Private Limited for failing to complete work on a mega composting centre (MCC) in Palasuni area as per the agreement in August. It has led to waste pile-up at the temporary transit station (TTS), triggering anger among residents.

Completion of the 100-tonne per day (TPD) capacity MCC would have helped BMC stop waste transportation to the TTS as 100 tonnes of waste could have been processed at the new centre. BMC had signed an agreement with the firm to take up work on the MCC in April.

BMC officials said that the company was served several reminders when it was found that the work was slow. After it missed the deadline, the civic body asked it to expedite work using extra manpower but it did not pay any heed. “The delay in work disrupted our plan to ensure better sanitation in the city. We have lodged a complaint with police for exemplary punishment. The company may be put on the blacklist also,” BMC commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange was quoted by TOI as saying.

The BMC stopped transportation of waste to Daruthenga on the city outskirts in May, this year. BMC officials say delay in opening the new MCC has lad to waste pile-up at the TTS since September.

Managing director of Bigyan Construction S K Swain said work should have been completed in August. However, work slowed down during monsoon as the site is located in a low-lying area. Work is on day and night to complete it by December-end, he said.

Similarly, the BMC also lodged a complaint against central PSU Bridge and Roof Company (India) Ltd for failing to build 400 houses for slum dwellers at Mandap basti. The civic body had entered into an agreement with the company in 2014 and the project was to be completed by 2016.

Though seven years have passed since the scheduled date of completion of construction work, the company is yet to hand over the dwelling units to BMC. As a result, the beneficiaries have been deprived of houses. BMC deputy commissioner Ramesh Jena told TOI that the civic body has paid the company full Rs 21 crore, estimated cost of the project.

While light to moderate rain is likely to resume in coastal districts of Odisha on Monday under the influence of Cyclone Michaung, which is gaining strength over Bay of Bengal, the intensity of downpour may increase on Tuesday when the system is expected to cross South Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Machilipatnam, close to Bapatla, during forenoon of December 5 as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Yellow warning of heavy rain has also been issued for Khurda along with several other coastal districts on Wednesday.

“The officials have been instructed to use public address system to alert people residing in low-lying areas. The WhatsApp group for disaster management will also remain active for better coordination and water pumps will be deployed at vulnerable points,” a BMC officer said.

The preparatory meeting also decided to keep ready diesel generator sets in case there is a power failure. Medical and support teams have been asked to remain on standby.

Notably, several areas in Chennai reported massive waterlogging, power and internet disruption as heavy rains lashed the city on Monday morning with Cyclone Michaung about 110km east-northeast of the city’s coast. While two persons reportedly died after a newly constructed wall collapsed at Kanathur due to heavy rain and gusty winds, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams, deployed in the city, rescued around 15 people from Tambaram area near Peerkankaranai and Perungalathur. Fourteen subways have also been shut due to waterlogging.

Several flights have been cancelled or delayed at Chennai airport due to rains.

Speaking to media persons on Wednesday, BMC commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange said the infrastructure has been made ready for rehabilitation of the beggars in the city. The move aims at making the city free of beggars.

“The BMC has already constructed beggar rehabilitation centre (BRC) to accommodate 200 alms seekers. It has the facilities to provide food, healthcare and basic amenities,” he said.

Kulange said the municipal officials will move around the city to bring the beggars, who are found seeking alms at traffic signals, bus stands and railway stations in the city, to the BRC. The BMC will also make arrangements for those who would want to go back to their native places, he added.

He further said the BMC has formed three special squads to keep an eye on begging at important junctions and places in the city. These teams, in association with police and NGOs, will rescue the beggars and relocate them to the rehabilitation centre, he added.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik issued instruction to the Cuttack Municipal Corporation in this regard on Sunday. He issued the direction considering the proposals from local MLAs and different puja committees in Cuttack city, a release from CMO stated.

As a result, the puja organisers will not have to pay the ground rent for organising community puja on government land this year.

Earlier, different clubs and associations organising celebration of festivals in public places had approached the elected representatives of their areas to take up the matter. They wanted the CMC to waive the ground rent to help them provide better facilities to visitors at the pandals in the city.

It may be noted that festivals like Ganesh Puja, Dussehra, Kali Puja, Laxmi Puja and Kartikeswar Puja are held on pandals for community celebration by the associations and clubs in different places of Cuttack every year.

President Droupadi Murmu presented the award highlighting the capital city’s unwavering dedication to innovation, sustainability and inclusive urban development, sources said.

This apart, Bhubaneswar received the ‘Partner MSI Award,’ presented to Honeywell Automation for their outstanding contributions to the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited project. Honeywell’s commitment to innovation and excellence in advancing smart city initiatives has made a significant impact on the community.

The award ceremony was held during the India Smart Cities Conclave 2023 in Indore in Madhya Pradesh. A delegation comprising Bhubaneswar Mayor Sulochana Das, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner Subhendu Sahu and Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) General Manager Subrat Kumar Behera received the awards. The event was attended by representatives of BMC, BSCL, and Honeywell.

The Smart Cities Conclave 2023 brought together government officials, urban planners, industry leaders, and experts from across India. The conclave served as a crucial platform for stakeholders to converge and foster discussions on state-of-the-art strategies and innovations within the realm of smart cities.

According to sources, the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) undertook a study and monitored the water quality of Bindusagar for over six months.

It reportedly found high presence of coliform, faecal coliform and faecal matter during monitoring of its water quality from January to June this year.

As per OSPCB report, the presence of total coliform was highest in the part of the pond towards Gyannagar in the Souty-West corner that was 24,161 mpn (most probable number) per 100 ml of water and faecal coliform was 9018 mpn.

The presence of total coliform was 17,713 mpn in Uttareswar Ghat and faecal coliform was 8227 mpn.

“With the creation of new posts, the BMC can be more efficient in providing basic facilities to residents in the capital city,” a release issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said.

With this, the total number of sanctioned posts in BMC has gone up to 626.

The government has created 3 more Additional Commissioner (Administration) posts, 6 new Zonal Commissioner posts, 13 new Deputy Commissioner posts and 9 new Assistant Commissioner (sanitation) posts of the BMC.

In addition, 11 new posts have been created in accounts, 4 new posts in planning, 17 posts in engineering (works), 5 in sanitation (engineering), 20 posts in drainage, 2 in mechanical, 1 in law, 2 in Public Relations, 7 in beautification and landscaping, 4 in animal welfare, 13 in social welfare, 1 in disaster and emergency service, 19 in enforcement, 93 ministerial staff,

The release further said that 187 new posts for ward management, which is an important area, has been created. Similarly, 67 new posts of ward officer have also been created. Similarly, the number of posts of ward revenue officer (tax collector) has been increased to 67 from 50 and that of sanitary inspector to 67 from 6. The number of posts of community organiser has also been increased from 25 to 67.

Speaking to media persons in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, BMC commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange said mass awareness is necessary regarding the causes of the spread of dengue. Considering this, the BMC had carried out door-to-door campaign about preventive measures like social distancing, cleaning hands and wearing masks during COVID pandemic. The BMC will do similar exercise in case of dengue in the city, he added.

“We had held a meeting with our staff and ward level officials in this regard on Wednesday. At the meeting, it was decided that a surveillance team would be formed in each ward. The team will comprise ward officer, SI, Swachhata Supervisor and a doctor. The team will conduct larvae checking by moving from house to house,” Kulange said.

“Since stagnated water serves as breeding ground for the mosquitoes that cause dengue, the BMC is carrying out fogging and oil spray on stagnated water on roadside and drains. It has engaged 15 machines now for the purpose and will procure 20 more vehicle mounted fogging machines by month-end. But our officials are unable to go to private houses to do these works,” he said.

The BMC commissioner further said, “It is the duty of the house owners, commercial establishments and institutions and shop-keepers to check whether there is any spot having stagnated water in front of their houses, backyard and roof top. They have to ensure that there are no such materials like open overhead water tank, damaged tyres, flower vases and pots where these mosquitoes can breed. They have to clean the place having stagnated water and keep it dry.”