CUTTACK: The silent protest by members of Bali Jatra Traders’ Association opposing hike in fairground rent entered third day on Monday. They are staging the protest in front of temporary Tehsil office near Gada Gadesawr temple.Traditional traders, who are coming to book plots for setting up their stalls in the fair, have also expressed solidarity with the association.
With stalemate between district administration and Bali Jatra traders demanding rollback of the `2 hiked price, the process for allocation of plots remained crippled. This year the rent per square foot has been fixed at `26. But, following protests from Saturday the administration slashed the rate by 50 paise but that did not go down well with the traders. “There is no genuineness in their demand. A few traders sitting near the temporary tehsil office are influencing others to not book plots through an unregistered organisation,” said Sanjibeeta Ray, Tehsildar, Cuttack Sadar.
Meanwhile, Collector Susant Kumar Mahapatra clarified that the ground rent was not hiked last year. Considering the absolute need to meet various expenses to maintain the standards of the fair, the administration had hiked ground rent by `2 but again considering the demands of the association, administration slashed ground rent by 50 paise,” he added. “There is nothing to be worried as we have sufficient time to chalk our further course of action to sell pots,” he informed.