BHUBANESWAR : After prohibiting obscene dance at bars, Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Wednesday said such performances during ‘jatra’ shows will also not be allowed in the state.
Speaking to mediapersons here, Harichandan said a new rule will soon be brought in to prohibit vulgar dances in jatra shows. A meeting with the troupe owners will be held soon as the government has taken the matter seriously. “The state government has taken the matter very seriously, and is working on a new rule to prohibit vulgar dances in jatra shows. Such acts misinterpret the glorious Odia culture,” he said.
Interestingly, the Odia Language, Literature and Culture department has already prohibited vulgar and objectionable performances during jatra and melody shows in the state. Last year, the then BJD government had issued a direction to all district collectors to clamp down on obscene and vulgar dances and dialogues with ‘double meaning’ that are part of jatra and melody programmes. The department asked all district collectors and SPs to immediately take exemplary steps to curb such activities.
The collectors and SPs were also asked ensure that permits issued for jatra and melody programmes should clearly restrict display of nudity or vulgarity during the performances. In case of violation, necessary action should be taken against them.
However, the troupe owners continue to violate the guidelines. Earlier this month, audiences threw chairs at a dancer Nisha Maharana for an obscene dance during a jatra show at Ragadi village in Jajpur district. However, no action was taken against her or the organisers.
Odisha Jatra Committee said jatra troupes are resorting to obscenity on the stage to increase footfall to their shows. “There is a strong competition among all troupe owners now. Since the cost of staging a show has increased and remuneration of artistes has also gone up, troupe owners are resorting to such display of vulgarity to draw more people to the shows,” said committee secretary Umakanta Mishra.
He informed that this year, each troupe is charging around Rs 3 lakh to Rs 3.3 lakh for staging a show per night. The amount was Rs 2 lakh last year. Similarly, the ticket cost for a show has increased from Rs 200- 300 to Rs 400-500 within the last one year. There are more than 35 jatra troupes in the state of which 20 are counted as A-class.