Bhubaneswar: Now, travellers stopping along national and state highways in Odisha will not have to worry about basic amenities such as toilets, drinking water, food and refreshments, and resting spaces.On Thursday, deputy chief minister Pravati Parida virtually inaugurated 68 refurbished wayside amenity centres along the national and state highways as well as major roads leading to tourist destinations across 25 districts, developed and upgraded for Rs 24.9 crore by the tourism department.To ensure that the facilities remain clean and functional, the department has engaged eight contractual workers at each centre — three security guards, four sanitation workers and one maintenance worker. Altogether, 544 personnel have been deployed through the district administrations under the Centralised Fund Management System (CFMS).The department has installed CCTV cameras at all 68 centres, and DG sets and inverters to ensure power supply, officials said.Food outlets at the centres will be run by women self-help groups (SHGs) selected by the respective district administrations. Parida said the move would give women an opportunity to earn a livelihood while bringing local food and traditional products closer to travellers.Travellers will not be charged for using toilets, drinking water and resting facilities.Parida said the refurbished centres would make highway journeys more convenient while also creating livelihood opportunities for the local communities.Of the 68 centres, the tourism department constructed 18, while the rest were set up by the works department. They also have parking spaces. Due to a lack of maintenance, the majority of them were in a dilapidated condition, while some stood abandoned.