Bhubaneswar: Curtains might finally be coming down on Jatra shows, a popular medium of art and entertainment in Odisha as the owners’ association has decided to stop organising shows after July 2019.
Expressing inability to keep the art of theatre alive, Odisha Jatra Troupe Association's president Soumya Ranjan Patnaik on Wednesday claimed that the owners of several groups have unanimously decided to stop hosting shows due to several factors.
The decision is likely to adversely affect nearly 30,000 people including 5,000 artistes who are directly engaged in the Jatra industry in Odisha.
"Though we have been trying to revive the oldest means of entertainment, the situation has become worse for the Jatra industry in the last 5 years as we are not able to organise shows for 300 days in a year due to several factors," said Patnaik.
Jatra troupe owners alleged that they have been forced to take such a decision due to high costs of operation that has increased manifold while they are not able to get desired profits. Besides, they cannot increase the prices of tickets which will be a burden on the people.
"We have already informed our artistes to start looking for alternatives," Patnaik added.
Owner of Kalinga Jatra troupe, Pradip Maharathy stated that there is no other option to keep the art alive as we have been facing tremendous challenges including legal hurdles, natural disasters and other issues.
"We have always been trying to promote art and culture and are ready for talks with the government," said Maharathy.
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