Bhubaneswar, August 6: The Odisha government has decided to establish Wayside Amenity Centres at every 50 km along National Highways, State Highways, Expressways and major district roads to improve travel convenience for long-distance commuters and tourists.

The proposal was reviewed at a high-level meeting chaired by Law, Works and Excise Minister Prithviraj Harichandan on Wednesday. The planned facilities aim to provide essential roadside services to truck drivers, bus passengers and private vehicle users.

Each centre will be equipped with separate toilets for men and women, EV charging stations, petrol pumps, food courts and rest houses. In the first phase, the state government will partner with central public sector oil companies. While the government will provide land for the projects, the oil companies will undertake construction and maintenance of the facilities.

Minister Harichandan said the initiative is part of the government's efforts to strengthen road infrastructure and ensure safer, more comfortable travel under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. He noted that the growing volume of highway traffic has made the availability of basic roadside amenities increasingly important.

The meeting was attended by Works Department Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh, Transport Commissioner Amitabh Thakur, Works Department Special Secretary Sameer Hota, NHAI Regional Officer Pradeep Lal, Chief Engineer (NH) Narayan Patel, and senior officials from the Works, Tourism and HPCL departments.

Officials said the process of identifying suitable locations and coordinating with oil companies will begin shortly, with the amenity centres to be developed in phases.