Parking chaos takes the sheen off Old Town’s beauty

Bhubaneswar: Old Town, the historic heart of Bhubaneswar, popular as Ekamra Kshetra, is currently grappling with a severe parking crisis. The heritage zone, home to the 11th century Lingaraj Temple and a number of other protected monuments, has turned into a chaotic maze of randomly parked vehicles, leaving both locals and tourists frustrated.The narrow lanes of Old Town, originally designed for a different era, are now lined with vehicles that obstruct traffic flow and pedestrian movement. Beyond the inconvenience, the situation raised serious safety alarms, as emergency vehicles, including ambulances and fire tenders, found it increasingly difficult to navigate the congested corridors.For thousands of tourists, the aesthetic appeal of the marvellous temples is now marred by rows of haphazardly parked cars. “It was a struggle to even walk between Mukteswar and Lingaraj Temple without dodging a vehicle every few metres,” said Gunjan Das, a tourist from West Bengal.Local residents share the sentiment. Saswat Mohanty, a long-time resident of Old Town, said every day is a struggle to reach his own house. “People park right in front of our gates. If there is a medical emergency in the middle of the day, we are at the mercy of the traffic,” he said.The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) acknowledged the growing menace. Following a recent survey of commercial activities in residential pockets, the civic body is planning a stricter enforcement drive, officials said.“The haphazard parking in Ekamra Kshetra is a major hurdle for our heritage conservation goals. We are identifying specific public spaces around the heritage zone to be designated as formal parking lots,” said mayor Sulochana Das.She said Ekamra Project is also put on a fast track after it faced a foreclose in Sept last year. “The work on development of roads, along with parking facilities, is underway from Sanitorium Square to Ratha Road Square,” Das added.Notably, a key component of the Ekamra Project is the redesigning of streetscapes and the creation of a pedestrian-only zone around Lingaraj Temple. The plan includes an integrated circulation network to reroute heavy traffic away from the core heritage sites, and thematic plazas for open congregational spaces to reduce crowding on the roads.“Bhubaneswar is steadily entering into the redevelopment stage like other metro cities. It is high time that a planned development begins from Old Town. Stricter enforcement is required to protect the heritage of the city,” Mohanty said.