Cuttack: After day-long parleys, traders Saturday agreed to put up stalls for the 11-day long Bali Yatra festival beginning here Friday next week, officials said.
“We have now decided to participate in the fair actively and make the festival a success after the district administration fulfilled all our demands after discussions,” said Bali Yatra Byabasayee Sangha president Sukant Mohanty.
The traders were demanding multiple allotment of plots to erect bigger stalls and allotment of space for joyride vendors without any auction.
There will be no auction for giant wheel vendors and the multiple allotment of stalls will be allowed, Mohanty said.
Cuttack Collector Aravind Agrawal also confirmed that all controversies with the traders have been amicably settled.
“We need active cooperation of traders to make the festival a success,” he said.
Accusing the administration of adopting an adamant attitude, the traders had earlier decided to boycott the festival.
At least 1,300 makeshift stalls will be erected over 50 acres of land spread across two fair grounds for the Bali Yatra festival beginning from the auspicious day of Kartika Purnima Friday. The festival this year will be of 11-day duration instead of seven days, as was the practice earlier.