Bhubaneswar: Bali Yatra, the biggest trade fair in Odisha, will kick off on the banks of Mahanadi river in Cuttack city on November 27.

A preparatory meeting for the annual fair was held under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary Satyabrata Sahu today. The festival will continue till December 4.

“The annual Bali Yatra will commence on the occasion of Kartika Purnima on November 27. The fair will be held for eight days,” said Cuttack Collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani.

Senior officials of several departments including Health, Water Resources, Tourism and Energy participated in the preparatory meeting. “Several departments of the state government will work in close cooperation for smooth organisation of Bali Yatra. We had set up a ‘Cuttack in Cuttack’ enclosure at last year’s Bali Yatra to make the fair more attractive for people. This year also we are planning to do something new for the visitors,” Chayani said.

The R&B department has been asked to develop the fairground while WATCO has been assigned the task of drinking water supply for the fair. The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) will look after issues related to sanitation while the Water Resources department will take the necessary steps to beautify the Mahanadi riverfront, added the Collector.

Sources, meanwhile, claimed that the Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS) has planned to open as many as 400 stalls at this year’s Bali Yatra.

Notably, the annual trade fair is organised on the banks of Mahanadi in the Silver City to celebrate the glorious maritime history of Odisha.

Traders from across the country, corporate houses and government agencies usually open their stalls at the fair.

Thousands of people from several districts of Odisha visit the fair to buy household goods, decorative pieces and wooden items among other things.

Hundreds of food stalls also come up at the fair to serve varieties of cuisines to the people.

The state government had accorded the state festival tag to Bali Yatra a few years ago.

It is worth mentioning here that the trade fair could not be held for two years (2020 and 2021) due to the Covid-19 pandemic.