Facelift for 11km median in run-up to mega event

Bhubaneswar: The city’s 11-km-long median from Biju Patnaik statue at Biju Patnaik International Airport to Damana Square will see designer plantation to beautify the stretch in view of the upcoming Men’s Hockey World Cup in January 2023.
In the run-up to the 2018 Hockey World Cup, this median was beautified with exotic palm trees, planters and hanging plants but they were all destroyed and uprooted in Cyclone Fani that struck a year later in 2019.
The environment wing of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) said the Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC) has taken up the plantation along the median. From Airport Square to AG Square and Governor House, exotic trees along the medians are being planted. Saplings are also being planted on extreme right and left sides of the artery, said BMC environment officer Basant Mallick.
The BMC will ensure that before the hockey event, plantation work will be complete. “The plantation activity will include planting of flower beds, grass, lawns (wherever required to lend an aesthetic touch), shrubs, hedge rows and trees. Besides, there will be planter boxes. Some pruning of the existing trees is also required. While it will compensate for the loss of green cover, it will beautify the medians,” said a BMC officer.
In May, the BMC put up bamboo barricades along the medians to protect the trees from cattle and theft. Earlier, iron grilles were used as shield. The bamboo barricades are eco-friendly.
In the comprehensive makeover plan that has been designed by Bhubaneswar Urban Knowledge Centre (BUKC), there will be designer shrubbery and seasonal trees. Enough public realm will be created (public space) near some vending zones. Creeper plantation will be taken up at bus shelters to enhance visual appeal while art and stamp work will be added to further beautify them. At some places, grass pavers will be created with spider lily plantation.