Cuttack: After a gap of two years due to COVID restrictions, the historic Bali Yatra will be held on the banks of the Mahanadi in Cuttack city.
Cuttack district Collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani informed the same on Friday. No permission was earlier granted to Bali Yatra owing to Covid-19 restrictions in the past two years.
“We are planning to organise Bali Yatra this year as there has been a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases,” said Cuttack Collector Bhawani Shankar Chayani.
Bali Yatra is being organised for centuries in Cuttack to commemorate and celebrate the maritime tradition and heritage of Odisha, which was known in ancient times as Kalinga, with the south-east Asian region, including Bali (now in Indonesia).
Every year it begins on the day of Kartika Purnima, which is considered auspicious and commemorates Odia mariners’ journeys to Bali, Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Sri Lanka for trade and commerce. While it is believed that the local traders and populace would have started the fair, the Cuttack district administration has taken the responsibility of organizing it for the last several decades. A Gandhi Shilpa Bazaar with over 150 stalls is also set up on the occasion.
Notably, the Odisha government recognised Cuttack’s ‘Bali Jatra’ as a state-level festival in 2019. Under which, Housing and Urban Development and Culture departments will provide necessary financial assistance for organising the historic fair.
