Bhubaneswar: The world famous Dhanu Jatra at Odisha’s Bargarh town was inaugurated today.

Bargarh MP Pradip Purohit inaugurated the festival in the presence of local MLA Ashwini Kumar Sarangi and other dignitaries in the evening.

The annual festival, considered as the largest open-air theatre in the world, will continue till January 13.

The festival is celebrated across 8-km radius at Bargarh municiplaity and its nearby areas. It is enacted on the theme of ‘Mathura Vijay’, which depicts the victory of Lord Krishna against his uncle and demon king Kansa.

The entire Bargarh town is decked up as Mathura while nearby Ambapali village turns into mythological Gopapura for the drama-based open-air theatrical performance.

The Jeera river, located close to Bargarh, is considered as Yamuna during Dhanu Jatra. Each and every resident of Bargarh consider themselves as the subjects of demon king Kansa during the festival. Several episodes related to the childhood of Lord Krishna and Lord Balaram are enacted during the 11-day festival.

The people of Bargarh have been organising the festival since 1947. According to locals, Dhanu Jatra was first organised at Bargarh in 1947 to celebrate the independence of India from the British rule.

It is worth mentioning here that the state government has raised the financial grants for Bargarh Dhanu Jatra to Rs 1 crore from the existing Rs 10 lakh to elevate the festival to international status.

Besides, the state government has earmarked additional Rs 50 lakh for the promotion and live broadcast of Dhanu Jatra.

The government has also announced to provide an honorarium of Rs 10,000 each to as many as 170 prominent artistes associated with the festival.

For the first time, the mega event will be live-streamed on LED screens across major cities, including the capital city here. The National School of Drama (NSD) will create a comprehensive documentary on the festival.

The state government has planned to constitute an expert committee to pitch for UNESCO’s ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ status for Bargarh Dhanu Jatra.