Bhubaneswar: Braving the sudden chill in the air and inclement weather after overnight downpour, over thousands of people thronged two major parks in the Capital city to participate in the second episode of Park Utsav held Sunday.
Organised by Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) at Buddha Jayanti Park and Biju Patnaik Park, around 3,000 citizens of different age-groups took part in the festival. Different activities including yoga, musical performance, painting, storytelling, awareness campaign on cleanliness and cultural programmes kept the audience engaged.
“Despite bad weather conditions, people, including good number of children and school students have attended the event today. This proves that the whole idea of organising Park Utsav has struck the right chord with one and all in the city,” said a top official of the BDA.
Aiming to culturally enrich the denizens of the Capital city, Park Utsav, is a move to provide citizens (especially children) and tourists with urban delights that the city offers along with a unique feel and festive ambience that combines Odia and international cultural experiences.
To motivate people to adopt a healthy lifestyle and disease-free life, a health camp was organised in the parks. Several people, mostly senior citizens, took advantage of the facility. Similarly, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) organised ‘Mu Safaiwala’ campaign and distributed cotton bags among visitors to spread awareness about health and environmental hazards of using plastic and polythene bags.
The visitors also filled the ‘Citizen Feedback Forms’ as part of ‘Ease of Living Index Assessment’ conducted by the BMC on behalf of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to know the quality of life of its citizens in the Smart City.
As part of the plan, the next Park Utsav will be held at Mahatma Gandhi park and Kharavela Park, February 16, and BDA City Centre ( NICCO Park) and Madhusudan Das Park, February 23.
