Cuttack: The cultural show at the famous Bali Jatra in Odisha’s Cuttack city was stopped midway by the police when Ollywood singer Asima Panda was performing, triggering resentment among the visitors.
According to sources, police personnel asked the organisers to stop the programme as it was already past 10 pm on Saturday. The move sparked tension at the festival ground as Asima Panda was enthralling the audience.
A team of police personnel entered the stage and stopped the popular singer from performing though her show was still in progress. While the unpleasant development occurred because of time restrictions, visitors claimed it was due to lack of coordination between the district administration and police.
The police personnel were stated to have stepped in enforce the 10 pm deadline fixed for cultural events at the festival. Despite the request from the additional district magistrate (ADM) to continue the cultural event, it was brought to an unexpected halt, causing resentment among the visitors.
The ADM stated that time was running out following which the police had performed their duties. He said that the programme was organised as per schedule. Notably, the cultural programme is allowed to continue until 10 pm at the Bali Jatra ground.