After Cuttack, COVID Pandemic Axe On Bhubaneswar Bali Jatra

Bhubaneswar: After Cuttack, COVID pandemic has thrown a spanner in Bali Jatra celebrations in Odisha capital.

The Commissionerate Police has not granted permission for holding the annual trade fair. “No cultural gathering or fair can be held as per the November COVID-19 guidelines issued by the Special Relief Commissioner,” said Bhubaneswar DCP Umashankar Dash. 

Bali Jatra Committee members have been informed that it would not be possible to grant permission to hold the event in view of the guidelines, he added.

It is for the second consecutive year that the festival, which is celebrated on Kartik Purnima (full moon) to pay tribute to the rich maritime history of Odisha, will not be organised either at Gadagadia ghat on the bank of Mahanadi in Cuttack and also on the banks of the Kuakhai on Kartika Purnima.

This year, Kartika Purnima falls on November 19.