BHUBANESWAR: The State Government on Friday announced to recognise famous Baliyatra at Cuttack that celebrates the maritime glory of Odisha as a State-level festival.At a high level meeting chaired by Minister for Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water, Law, Housing and Urban Development Pratap Jena, it has been decided that Odia Language, Literature and Culture department will soon bring out a notification recognising Baliyatra as a State-level festival.
Jena said the meeting deliberated on the long historical tradition of Baliyatra and its significance in the maritime history of the State. It deserves the special status of a State level festival with support being extended by all departments of the Government, he said.
The Cuttack Baliyatra will be managed by the District Council of Culture under the Chairmanship of Collector as an annual cultural and trade festival. The Odia Language, Literature and Culture department will extend a special annual grant of ` 20 lakh exclusively for organising the festival.
The Housing and Urban Development department will also extend a grant of `50 lakh to Cuttack Municipal Corporation for development of infrastructure exclusively for Baliyatra every year. The sponsoring departments will be properly branded at Baliyatra venue.
It has also been decided that the Public Health Engineering Organisation (PHEO) will instal 100 temporary toilets at Baliyatra venue and will make adequate arrangements for water facilities there. It will also clean water stored in small lakes being developed at Baliyatra ground for water sports activities.
All other line departments, including Water Resources, Works, Health and Family Welfare besides CESU will make necessary arrangements at the venue and funds required for the purposes will be met out of their departmental budget.
For making Baliyatra more attractive, different departments like Agriculture, Animal Resources, Industries, Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Forest and Textile would participate to showcase their activities.