BHUBANESWAR: The Capital city of Bhubaneswar will host the second edition of the much-awaited .Fest (dot fest) in January next year. With the Hockey World Cup to be organised in the city in the next few months, a review meeting was held under the chairmanship of Development commissioner-cum-additional chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena in presence of higher officials of various departments and Sundargarh administration where modalities of the fortnight-long fest was also discussed on Monday.
Ahead of both the events, it was decided to improve the priority road network (PRN) consisting of 80 km of road stretch along with major landmarks and priority areas in the city. No digging of roads by any agency will be allowed from December 1 without prior approval of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC). The city will be beautified and night bazaar will be organised during the festival by the Handlooms, Handicrafts and Textiles department and the Culture department.
An executive committee will be formed for the festival and city beautification drive under the chairmanship of vice-chairman of Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) Balwant Singh.
The dot fest will have plenty to offer in the form of entertainment and performances. It will have components like photo exhibitions and installations, city trails, heritage walks, international food festival, food truck carnival and flee markets. “Night bazaar and BhuFeSto (Bhubaneswar story-telling festival) are going to enthral the visitors from across the globe and help them know Odisha better, said Singh.
“There will be performances by both traditional artistes and artistes of international repute. A street art and mural project is also part of the festival under which, art works, wall paintings, sculptures and murals will come up on public places in the city,” he said. Singh added that residents are requested to maintain cleanliness in the city during the two events. Secretary of BDA Kabindra Kumar Sahoo informed that BDA has already floated a tender in this regard.