Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has ordered against obstructing NH-59 during Danda Yatra at Baliguda in Odisha’s Kandhamal district.
The Kandhamal district administration has been asked to ensure that Danda Yatra is not performed on the national highway. Also known as Danda Nacha, the tribal dance festival held in Baliguda area during the Chaitra month every year from April 1 to 14.
The single judge bench of Justice S K Panigrahi issued the direction on Saturday while disposing of a petition seeking intervention against inaction of the administration to stop Danda Yatra on NH 59.
The petitioner, Chitta Ranjan Nayak, mentioned the likely congregation of about 30,000 people on the highway during the festival and tradition of bare-bodied devotees rolling on the road. His counsel, Sujata Jena, submitted that the prevailing customs not only cause significant physical damage due to the heat but also led to inconvenience for motorists and people using the road.
Taking note of the apprehension of the petitioner, the court directed Kandhamal collector, sub-collector, Baliguda and Kandhamal SP to take appropriate step to dissuade the devotees from rolling on the pitch road. “They can perform their customary rolling on any bylane or sub-lane or adjacent to the National Highway. The officers shall also ensure that the National Highway is not blocked nor any kind of inconvenience is caused to the motorists and common men plying on the road,” Justice Panigrahi added.