BMC opens naturally-cool shelter to beat the heat

Bhubaneswar: In tune with revenue department’s recent plan to set up heatwave relief centres across Odisha, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday opened an environment-friendly cool rest room at Kalpana Square to provide respite to people from the scorching summer. The facility built using natural vetiver grass wall and powered by solar energy, has been designed as a cooling shelter for commuters and other public exposed to extreme heat.

BMC officials said the rest room has automatic misting and water sprinklers inside to keep the vetiver continuously moist, helping lower the temperature naturally. The system works like drip irrigation, while ceiling fans installed inside help circulate the cool mist.

“Spread over 20 ft by 10 ft, the rest room will function round the clock. A security guard will be deployed at the site. The shelter is expected to benefit people waiting for buses to Puri as well as city bus passengers, as Kalpana Square remains one of the busiest transit points in the capital,” said BMC additional commissioner Kailash Chandra Dash.

For common people, rest sheds have already been created at bus stops by the Capital Region Urban Transport, but officials said those have not proved effective enough in offering relief during peak summer conditions. The new vetiver-based structure is being seen as a more practical and climate-sensitive alternative.

“We are exploring the possibility of having such facilities at two more locations. Also, to reduce heat at Salia Sahi locality, the city’s biggest slum, roofs of some houses have been painted with white enamel paint, which can reduce heat radiation by 2°C,” Dash added.

Apart from the public cooling shelter, the civic body has also opened three multi-purpose rest rooms, one in each of its three zones, for sanitary workers. These facilities will serve as attendance points and resting spaces during work hours. Drinking water arrangements have also been made so that workers can sit and recover during leisure time or after prolonged exposure to the sun.

The initiative comes at a time when the revenue department has prioritised the creation of heat wave relief centres in locations that frequently report heat-related cases and record high temperatures throughout summer. At present, no dedicated heat wave relief centres exist anywhere in the state.