Balijatra 2024 to Continue on Both Grounds, Orissa HC Calls for Unified Setup Next Year

Balijatra 2024 to Continue on Both Grounds, Orissa HC Calls for Unified Setup Next Year

The special bench handling civic issues in Cuttack clarified the situation regarding Balijatra 2024 after Cuttack collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde informed the court that it would not be feasible to locate all the stalls on the lower ground, as the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has permitted Balijatra to be held in the 34-acre reclaimed riverbed area.

Thus, the Orissa High Court stated on Thursday that no stalls will be moved from the upper Balijatra ground at Killa Maidan to the lower ground on the Mahanadi riverbed this year. However, the court suggested that the administration should consider relocating the entire fair to the riverbed area for next year's event.

The Collector, who was present in court, informed the bench that over 1,800 plots have already been allocated for stalls in the lower Balijatra ground, while the land in the upper Balijatra ground for 601 private stalls has been auctioned to private parties since October 26.

In light of this, the bench, consisting of Justice SK Sahoo and Justice V Narasingh, allowed Balijatra to be held in both the upper and lower grounds this year. However, the bench expressed its expectation that the Collector would consider relocating all stalls to the lower ground for next year’s event and plan for this change in advance. The court had earlier requested a feasibility report from the state government regarding a proposal made by Bijay Dash, President of the High Court Bar Association, who also heads the Advocates’ Committee formed by the court on October 30.

The committee had raised concerns about the safety risks posed by the current layout, noting that the heavy crowd moving between the upper and lower grounds, particularly along the Ring Road, could lead to accidents or even stampedes. They also highlighted difficulties faced by the ambulance service transporting patients to SCBMCH in Cuttack. The committee suggested that if all stalls were relocated to the lower ground and the upper ground was used for parking, many of these issues could be mitigated significantly.