Bhubaneswar: A significant step toward enhancing visa services in Odisha was taken on Monday with the signing of a tripartite agreement between the Home department, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), and VFS Global to establish a Visa Application Centre (VAC) at the Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar Bus Terminal (BSABT).
The agreement was formalized by Soumendra Patra, Additional Secretary (Home); Manas Ranjan Padhi, Secretary, BDA; and Viney John, Associate Vice-President (Administration, South Asia), VFS Global Group.
The proposed centre will be located at BSABT in Baramunda, with the state government designating approximately 3,000 square feet of space for its establishment.
Currently, residents of Odisha must travel to cities such as Kolkata, Delhi, or Hyderabad for visa services. The new facility will eliminate the need for such travel, thereby making the process more accessible locally.
This initiative follows the approval granted in December by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi for the establishment of a Visa Application Centre in the state.
Sources suggest that the centre is likely to become operational soon. In a related development, BDA also signed an agreement with the Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC) to lease vacant space at the terminal.
The agreement was signed by Manas Ranjan Padhi and Mili Samantaray, Administrative Officer of OCAC, in the presence of senior officials.
Under this arrangement, BDA will lease approximately 77,000 square feet across two floors to OCAC, which will further allocate the space to IT companies. This move aims to integrate transport, services, and technology within a single hub.
BDA Vice-Chairman Chanchal Rana stated that BSABT is set to evolve into a combined transport and business hub, accommodating IT and ITeS companies alongside the Visa Application Centre. He noted that the anticipated increase in footfall at the terminal is expected to benefit vendors and other stakeholders.
Spread over 11 acres, BSABT is the largest bus terminal in Odisha, managing over 1,500 buses and nearly 20,000 passengers daily across inter-state and intra-state routes, making it a key transit hub in the state.
