Tata Steel which completed 113 years on Wednesday, commemorated the occasion by gifting a Jamshedpur with its first public square at Bistupur, replete with a snack corner, fountains and a children’s corner.

The square in the heart of the steel city, developed jointly with its utilities firm Tata Steel Utilities and Infrastructure Services Limited (formerly Jusco), was inaugurated virtually in keeping with Covid-19 norms.

Children’s corner at the newly inaugurated Bistupur Public Square in Jamshedpur on Wednesday Bhola Prasad

The public square also has a green buffer zone, selfie point and benches for people to relax in. The other features include landscaped islands, a food hub, a free parking zone, space for the disabled, public toilets, dustbins at regular intervals, lots of space for pedestrians and proper CCTV surveillance.

"The public square will not be opened for visitors as of now. Once the pandemic is over, we will open it for the citizens," said a spokesperson of the utilities firm.

Selfie point at the newly inaugurated Bistupur Public Square in Jamshedpur on Wednesday Bhola Prasad

Deputy commissioner of East Singhbhum Suraj Kumar congratulated the company and those who worked hard in making the public square a reality. “The public square is a gift to citizens and they must help maintain it,” he said, and suggesting that a graffiti corner be set up near the Bistupur police station and the Talwar Building.

East Singhbhum SP Tamil Vanam also thanked Tata Steel and the utilities firm.

Benches at the newly inaugurated Bistupur Public Square in Jamshedpur on Wednesday Bhola Prasad

Chanakya Choudhary, vice-president (corporate services), Tata Steel, spoke how the new facility would be a source of attraction for the people in the time to come.

Tarun Daga, managing director, of the utilities firm, thanked all those who joined the virtual inauguration and all those who worked for the successful completion of the project.

Fountains at the newly inaugurated Bistupur Public Square in Jamshedpur on Wednesday Bhola Prasad

“Public squares are the pulsating heart of a community. More and more, new public plazas and transformed squares are emerging as a sustainable way to enhance urban liveability,” he said.

It was with this in mind that the company chose Jamshedpur’s most important commercial centre, Bistupur, for the first of its kind public square, he explained.