Bhubaneswar May Go Coimbatore Way In Creating NMT Network Plan

Bhubaneswar: Reiterating its priority of increasing public transport and creating a corridor for Non-Motorised Transport (NMT), Bhubaneswar City Administration will study a similar model prepared and presented for Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

According to sources, a workshop will be organised by the German International Agency (GIZ) on Thursday (February 6) where the draft plan of NMT network for Coimbatore Smart City will be presented before various stakeholders including top officials of Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL), Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).

‘Creating an NMT network plan and implementing tactical urbanism measures – A case study of Coimbatore’ will be presented by Ranjith Parvathapuram, Urban Transport Expert for Coimbatore, SMART-SUT, it has been learnt.

BSCL Chief Executive Officer Prem Chandra Chaudhary, who is also the Vice-Chairman and Commissioner of BDA and BMC, is slated to give the opening remarks at the workshop.

Besides, a team of experts will also discuss several important topics such as ‘approach and findings of Bhubaneswar’s parking policy development’, ‘parking provision vs parking management’ and ‘putting priority for public transport in cities’, ‘better streets leading to better cities’ among others.

Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL), Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).

It may be mentioned here that, in December last year, Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) had made mandatory for all housing projects to adopt sustainable transport infrastructure and promote NMT system to promote a clean city environment, healthy lifestyle and sustainable urban habitat.

In a similar initiative, BDA, BSCL and BMC had asked their employees to shun vehicles and come to office once in a week, preferably on Friday, on bicycles or by walking to promote a clean and pollution-free environment.