OdishaLIVE Bureau
Smart City gets dedicated website on the eve of 70 years of City Foundation Day
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched Smart City website Bhubaneswar.me recently. The website developed by Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) was launched alongside a new and vibrant logo of Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL). While launching the website, Naveen Patnaik said “I hope the website becomes a single point information source for tourists from the country and abroad who would like to plan their trip to perfection while visiting Odisha, the soul of incredible India”.
The portal www.bhubaneswar.me has all the information related to the Temple City Bhubaneswar that an interested tourist may look to explore and try. The website is divided into 5 major sections namely: Explore, Experience, Stay, Taste, This is Bhubaneswar. Under the explore option, one can find sub categories like Heritage Circuits, Temples, Parks & Recreation, Shopping, Getaways. The sub sections have a drop down of locations with description and photographs.
Explore
The Heritage Section boasts of rich tourist places like Ekamra Walks – Lingaraj Circuit; Monks, Caves and Kings – A Jain Circuit, Dhauli Shanti Stupa – A Buddhist Circuit and Ekamra Walks – Rajarani Circuit. Of all the mentioned circuits, only the Rajarani Temple has an entry fee of Rupees fifteen for Indian visitors and Rupees Two hundred for foreign tourists whereas the rest of the sites are free to visit and enter.
Similarly, the Temples menu gives a variety of renowned kalingan temples namely Lingaraj Temple, Ananta Basudev, Mukteswar and Chausathi Yogini temples to name a few. The parks & Recreation section has quite a few outstanding city parks like the Biju Patnaik Park, Ekamra Kanan, Nandankanan Zoo, Botanical garden, Ekamra Van, Indira Gandhi park, Open gym and others. Again the Shopping menu is designed to include a few shopping landmarks of the city like EkamraHaat, Market Building, Janpath Street, Unit 1 market etc. Likewise, the getaways section is aimed at providing relief from the hum drum of city life. Hence places like Anshupa, Bhitarkanika, Chandaka, Chilika, Deras, Konark, Puri, Satkosia and Gopalpur feature prominentnly on the list.
Experience
The experience section of the site makes one wonder at such a huge list of activities and leisure time areas to choose from! There are sections like Tours and Shows, Museums, Festivals, Events and Exhibitions, Sports to choose from. There is a vast list of events and places to visit including Dhauli Light and Sound Show, PathaniSamanata Planetarium, Tribal Museum, Odisha State Museum, Regional Science Centre. There is a plethora of festivals and exhibitions to choose from Rath Jatra, Kartika Purnima, Maha Shivaratri, Raja, Dussehra, Chandan Jatra, DolaJatra to Rajarani Music festival, Adivasi Mela, Odisha Hockey Worldcup 2018, Book Fair, Toshali Crafts Mela, Odissi International, Mukteswar Dance festival. Added to this is the line up of sports in Bhubaneswar smart city including Hockey, Golf, Badminton, Snooker, Shooting and Athletics etc.
Stay
This section defines accommodation one may expect in the smart city from luxurious hotel chains like Mayfair, Swosti, Trident and Crown to budget offerings like Ginger, Suryansh, Presidency. One can also opt for Govt. supported lodging like OTDC Panthanivas, Special Circuit House, State Guest House, Lift Irrigation – IB to name a few.
Taste
To tickle the taste buds of prospective visitors as well as local residents, this segment lists out all kinds of delicacies that one may gorge on while in Bhubaneswar. The list includes Plush restaurants to pocket friendly food joints, upmarket bars and pubs as well as local Odia cuisine, Temple Food and Traditional Sweets of the region. One can also try local favourites like Pakhala, Dalma, ManchamundaChencheda, Crispy Bara, Ghuguni etc.
This is Bhubaneswar
This is Bhubaneswar deals with basic information about the city, its history and weather to local communication, Hospitals, Safety tips, Emergency numbers, Public transport information, Connectivity options et al. The segment also details on other tourists interest data like Art and Craft, Stone Craft, Applique, Pattachitra painting, Wood craft, Silver Filigree, Bell metal and Dhokra works of Bhubaneswar which are a rage among domestic and overseas travellers. A small section names Must See, details ten things that one could do in the city ranging from visiting the DhauliShati Stupa to visiting the ancient Khandagiri Caves, go tiger watching at Nandankanan Zoo to having local sweetmeats at Pahala village. There is also six offbeat things to do in Bhubanswar which include thrift shopping, cycling alongside the Kanjialake nearBotanical Garden, 360 degree view of the city atop Udaygiri caves to inhae fresh air at Ekamra Van medicinal garden which incidentally happens to be the CM’s favourite spot. It is said that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik personally invited state guests to visit the medicinal garden.
Overview
The website has been designed keeping in mind ease of access to people via different devices. The navigation is easy with varied menu and sub menu options to choose from. There are pleasing photographs and motion graphics to keep oneself glued to the screen all enhancing and detailing the beauty of Bhubaneswar. There is a floating events button which gives a daily record of forth coming events on calendar so that no one can miss things of interest. Overall the website has been custom made to cater to all possible information while giving the option to search for information within the website for better user experience. We hope the website continues to be useful to drive the tourism and passion of Odisha and Odia community everywhere.
