Long-term plan for Cuttack Bali Yatra on the anvil

A long-term plan for the historic Bali Yatra in Cuttack will be prepared in a meeting to be convened after December 20. 

Cuttack district Collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde on Thursday informed this to the Orissa High Court while the court was hearing a public interest litigation concerning city affairs. 

The Collector, who attended the hearing via video conferencing, informed the High Court that a meeting involving the officers of different departments will be held after December 20. 

Notably, the Bali Yatra festival is held on the banks of the Mahanadi River for nine days, starting on Kartik Purnima, the full moon day of Kartik month. 

During the hearing, the High Court encouraged the officials to increase the presence of medium-sized buses within the city limits, under the 'Mo Bus' scheme. 

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The CEO of Mo Bus informed the High Court that an order for 200 electric buses has been placed, and the first batch of 50 buses is anticipated to reach Cuttack by January. 

The state’s apex court also expressed its concern over increasing dog bite incidents in the city. In response, the Cuttack Municipal

Corporation (CMC) informed the High Court that the sterilization of stray dogs is getting delayed because the NOC from the central government has been pending for a long period.