Aditi Panda
Once upon a time Sunday was eagerly waited for all through the week as it was a day for chilling, spending time with friends and family and number of things that would possibly ease the stress and make us happy and relaxed.
Today every person is troubled about how they look, their professional life, children, household chores
and numerous other uncertainties throughout the week and lo behold comes the much awaited day, Sunday reserved for the incomplete errands and on the whole getting geared up for the looming week.
To change this drastic situation and bring a energy in the lives of the citizens of Bhubaneswar, probably Lord Jaganath designed Patha Utsav to de-stress every Bhubaneswarian from fatigue, worry and strain.
Initially the weekly event was called Raahgiri, which kick-started at Janpath, every Sunday morning. It was received warmly and continued for 27 triumphant weeks.
With the onset of monsoon In August 2016 the event came back in a new avtar Patha-Utsav jointly initiated by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and the Bhubaneswar Development Authority and held on every Sunday from 06:00 am to 10:00 am.
The main objective of ‘Patha Utsav’ was to remind people that at least once in a week the streets and roads belong to them completely. This endeavour was taken to promote pedestrian walking as well as an opening to cyclists to have some pleasurable moments on the expanse between Master Canteen and Ram Mandir.
Shri Kumar, Commissioner, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation is totally involved in this initiative. There are explicit plans of developing a Transit Oriented Development corridor in Janpath so that the streets become child-friendly for the pedestrians and cyclists to commute safely he informs.
A large number of people from toddlers to elderly throng the Patha Utsav, making an attempt to rise up early on a Sunday morning enticed with the prospect of having a party of sorts out in the open empty streets, with no traffic and no honking even if it is for a short time.
There is no restraint on anyone to do a definite activity. Each person could decide their own indulge that would relax them and make them feel every moment inimitable and want to come repeatedly.
Many children can be found cycling, skating and even dancing, while some are playing different games with their family and friends. A lot of children prefer to spend in reading and also artistic activities like rangoli, drawing and colouring.
(Aditi is a freelance writer and pursues interest in the area of social issues)
Definitely a nice idea. But difficult to implement and enforce in a city where people care little to government law and policing is still to prove it’s credit worthiness.