Bali Yatra festival begins in Cuttack

Cuttack: The historic Bali Yatra festival was inaugurated in Cuttack on the occasion of Kartik Purnima by Finance Minister Shashi Bhusan Behera on Friday.

The festival was inaugurated in the presence of Culture Minister Ashok Panda, collector Arvind Agarwal and MLAs. From this year, the fair will continue for 10 days.

The festival on the two grounds of the fair is likely to witness a footfall of millions of people and hundreds of makeshift stalls would showcase a wide range of products, including ethnic items brought by artisans from across the country.

This year, the festival is being organised on a land spreading over 44 acres and over 1,300 stalls have come up to sell products ranging from household products and electronics to foods and home decoration projects.

Free bus service will be provided to people from Trisulia Square to the fair ground. Multiple entry and exit points have been made at the fair ground to ensure that people can visit the festival freely.

In view of safety and security, 32 platoons of police have been deployed. Plain clothed cops have been deployed to keep vigil on the anti-social elements. Moreover, the fairground has been brought under CCTV surveillance.

The Bali Yatra festival is celebrated to mark the day when ancient Sadhabas (Oriya mariners) would set sail to distant lands of Bali, as well as Java ( known as “Yawadvipa”in earlier days), Sumatra, Borneo (all in Indonesia), and Sri Lanka  for trade and cultural expansion.