Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday launched "BhubaneswarMe", the city wifi programme taken up by Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) for internet access in major areas of the city.BSCL said on the first day, 100 hotspots with 275 access points were functional, the first ever in the country with this range of coverage. The hotspots are on the stretch between KIIT Square and Governor House, Acharya Vihar and AG Square, Sishu Bhawan and Vani Vihar and Nalco Square and Acharya Vihar.One hotspot can handle around 150 users in a given time. The speed of the internet will be two mbps. An user can use 250 mb data a day. "I am happy that the BhubaneswarMe wifi project will become the first ever in the country with a unique capability to cover the entire city. The younger generation will greatly benefit from it," said Naveen. In the second phase, the BSCL will have another 100 hotspots. Subsequently, the total number of hotspots for the entire city will be 518 so that there are 1,800 access points.On Tuesday, the chief minister will launch the state-of-the-art city buses under city bus modernisation programme called "MoBus" taken up by Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT). In the first phase, 100 buses will run on nine routes. In the second and third phases, another hundred will be ready for operation.The buses have smart and IT-driven features. It will have GPS that will enable it to send real-time data on bus timing to the central command centre. Besides, it will bring the drivers of the buses under surveillance. "The buses will have such facilities as to convey all the moves of the drivers to the central command centres. It will also keep tabs on the acceleration, de-acceleration, rash driving, time of stoppages and other behaviour," said an officer of CRUT.The modern buses will have spacious cabin according to Urban Bus Design Code, which lays emphasis on the comforts of both drivers and passengers. A mobile application has been developed that will help people track the locations of the designated bus stop. People can know real-time movement of the bus running status through the App. Another IT-driven feature is CCTV cameras installed in the buses.

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