CUTTACK: The historic Balijatra festival kicked off amid traditional fanfare with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurating the annual open-air trade fair here on Friday.
Accompanied by deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, Majhi declared the annual trade fair open at upper and lower Balijatra grounds. Over 80,000 visitors thronged the fair on the first day.
Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, Jagatsinghpur MP Bibhu Prasad Tarai, MLAs of Cuttack, secretary east, Ministry of External Affairs Jaideep Mazumdar, chief secretary Manoj Ahuja, development commissioner Anu Garg besides ambassadors and high commissioners of 14 countries were present at the inauguration ceremony.
All the guests including the envoys were felicitated with ‘Anga Bastra’ (shawls) woven by Maniabandha weavers and silver filigree mementos.
In comparison to last year, the Balijatra festival this time is offering a plethora of cultural activities with addition of several new events and entities. Around 2,500 stalls including 200 corporate, 325 government and 600 food stalls have been set up on 8.5 acre of upper Balijatra ground near Barabati Fort and 34 acre of the lower ground on the river bed of Mahanadi.
At least 500 stalls have been set up in the national-level Pallishree Mela showcasing products ranging from handlooms, handicrafts, homemade spices, household articles and ethnic products from 30 districts of Odisha and 24 other states including Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Assam among others.
ORMAS has also come up with a national-level food festival wherein stalls have been set up in the Mela offering popular dishes from Odisha and other states. A Pitha Mahotsav is being organised this year.
The Cuttack-in-Cuttack pavilion is reflecting the theme of Odia Asmita (pride) by showcasing Odia films. Similarly, to commemorate Odisha’s maritime history, a South East Asia pavilion has also come up this year. At least 15 stalls highlighting the prominent cultural similarities, mythological connections, temples, textiles, terracotta, dance forms, masks and coins between Odisha and South East Asian countries have been set up in the pavilion.
While kite festival and a drone show have been added this year, artistes from eight countries are participating in the fair to entertain visitors. Different kinds of joy rides and swings have also been set up at the Balijatra ground.
The Balijatra festival will continue till November 22.