Continuing their protest against the increase in rent of the land to be leased out by the district administration for the week-long Baliyatra festival scheduled next month, the traders wishing to erect stalls for the festival did not book spaces on the third day on Monday.
Citing increase in maintenance cost and inadequate government allotment for the festival, the district administration this year had hiked the land rent from Rs 22 per square foot to Rs 24. However, the hike was slashed by 50 paise after the traders grumbled.
But demanding complete rollback of the hike this year, the Baliyatra Traders’ Association is boycotting the space booking counter, which opened to the public on Saturday. Not a single trader has booked space to erect make-shift stall at any of the festival grounds so far.
“looking at the recurring expenditure to organise a festival of such size and range, we were forced to hike the land rent,” said Cuttack Sadar Tehsildar Sanjeebita Ray, claiming that the hike is very genuine and reasonable.
She said the State Government allotment for the festival is a mere Rs 1.5 lakh and that amount goes towards paying the electricity dues. The local administration spends over Rs 50 lakh towards barricading, temporary roads and staging of cultural programmes in the festival.
But the traders refuse to buy any argument of the administration.