Odisha has opened 68 upgraded wayside amenity centres across 25 districts, providing travellers with free toilets, drinking water and resting facilities along national and state highways and major roads leading to tourist destinations. Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida virtually inaugurated the refurbished centres on Thursday.
The tourism department developed and upgraded the facilities at a cost of Rs 24.9 crore. The centres are intended to address the shortage of basic services for people travelling through the state, including access to food, refreshments, parking and clean public facilities.
Officials said each centre will have eight contractual workers: three security guards, four sanitation workers and one maintenance worker. District administrations have deployed a total of 544 personnel through the Centralised Fund Management System, creating a dedicated staffing arrangement for the facilities.
The department has also installed CCTV cameras at all 68 centres. Diesel generator sets and inverters have been provided to support power supply, officials said. The infrastructure is intended to keep the centres operational and improve oversight, particularly at locations where inadequate maintenance had previously affected public use.
Food outlets at the centres will be operated by women’s self-help groups selected by the respective district administrations. Parida said the arrangement would provide livelihood opportunities for women while bringing local food and traditional products closer to travellers using the highways and tourist routes.
Travellers will not be charged for using the toilets, drinking water or resting areas. The centres also include parking spaces, adding a formal stopping point for vehicles on routes where travellers may otherwise depend on informal or poorly maintained roadside facilities.
Of the 68 centres, 18 were constructed by the tourism department, while the remaining facilities were established by the works department and subsequently refurbished. The need for the upgrade arose after most of the centres fell into a dilapidated condition because of inadequate maintenance, while some had been abandoned.
The operating model combines district-level staffing, CCTV surveillance, backup power and self-help-group-run food outlets. The tourism department and district administrations will now be responsible for keeping the centres clean, functional and accessible to travellers across the state.
