Bhubaneswar: The Adivasi Mela in Bhubaneswar, which registered footfall of more than 10 lakh visitors during 11 days, came to an end on Monday.
The Adivasi Mela, showcasing Odisha’s tribal culture, was organised by the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare department at the Adivasi Exhibition Ground in the city.
The major highlights of this year’s annual tribal fair included a three-day multilingual drama festival. The plays in Santali, Desia, Ho and Mundari languages, focusing on social awareness, were staged by different groups.
The other attractions included 10 tribal huts, with seven representing Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and three from other tribal communities. The event also saw dance performance by 40 troupes from various tribal communities.
During the 11-day Mela, business worth more than Rs 5 crore was transacted. The event came to a colourful end with prize distributions for meritorious students in SSD schools and winners of various state-level competitions and categories.
ST/SC Development, Minorities, and Backward Classes Welfare and Law Minister Jagannath Saraka; Advisor, Special Development Council (SDC), Pradeep Majhi; Advisor, ST/SC Caste Development, Sarojini Hembram; Advisor, Minority Affairs, Tahera Khatun; Advisor, Backward Classes Affairs, Pruthviraj Sahoo and Advisor, Anwesha and Akankhya Scheme, Elina Dash attended the valedictory function of the Mela.
Secretary, ST, SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Department, Roopa Roshan Sahoo; Managing Director of Tribal Development Cooperative Corporation of Odisha Limited Poma Tudu and Member Secretary of Academy of Tribal Languages and Culture Indramani Tripathy were also present.
In her closing remarks, Roopa Roshan Sahoo said, “Odisha is bestowed with a rich tribal legacy of 13 PVTGs and there are many dialects in use besides the overall 62 tribal communities. We are working dedicatedly towards their holistic development, cultural conservation and welfare so that the state will have a distinct honour across the globe for the achievement.”
