Hold-up over Baliyatra land rent hike removed

The holdup over next months Baliyatra festival here on account of hike in rent of leased land was removed today as the district administration decided to slash the rate by another 50 paise per square foot.
The Baliyatra Traders Association, which was spearheading the protest against the rent hike, called off its protest following the cut in the proposed hike and indicated that the traders would start booking spaces in the festival grounds from tomorrow.
The proposed hike in rent was slashed by Rs 1 in two phases due to our consistent resistance, said the Association secretary Debi Prasad Das after a meeting with the district collector. He said the rent, license fee, users fee for the trades would not be hiked for the next three years.

Announcing the decision of slashing the rent hike, Cuttack Sadar Tehsildar Sanjeebita Ray said a trader would now pay Rs 27 per square foot of land to be taken as lease to erect the make-shift stalls for the week-long festival beginning from November 4.
The tehsildar said of the Rs 27 collected, Rs 2 each would go towards sanitation and users fee of the civic body and fire department, respectively. The remaining Rs 23 collected per square foot would be shared between the tehsil office and the city civic body.
The annual Balijatra festival is held in Cuttack at Gadagadia Ghata of the Mahanadi river, to mark ancient 'Sadhabas' (Odia mariners) setting sail to distant lands of Bali, as well as Java, Sumatra, Borneo (in Indonesia), and Sri Lanka for trade and cultural expansion.