Sonepur Mela last year. Telegraph picture

Sonepur Mela is losing its affordability factor for traders because of increase in land rent.

The traders claimed that the land rent at the fair venue has increased more than twice in the past two years, since the tourism department has been organising the event through management companies.

Several traders have claimed that they have reduced the number of stalls since last year because of the increase in land rent. “The rent of nakhas (government) land at the fair venue was between Rs 6,000 and Rs 7,000 per running foot (measure of one foot in length only, also known as linear foot) in 2011. The rent was increased to Rs 8,000-9000 per running foot last year. This year, the rent for the same is in the range of Rs 11,000-14,000. I have reduced the number of stalls from 10 to four because of the surge in the land rent at the fair,” said an executive of a private firm, who did not wish to be named.

The month-long cattle fair to be held at the confluence of Ganga and Gandak rivers at Sonepur, around 35km north of Patna, is slated to be inaugurated on Saturday by revenue and land reforms minister Ramai Ram.

The area available for setting up theatres, non-government stalls, book fair and Disney Land among others at nakhas land is 4.74 acres. Sources claimed that the numerous firms dealing in the fast-moving consumer goods, including Godrej and Britannia, have stopped setting up their stalls at the fair venue because of exorbitant land prices.

Residents of Sonepur have also agreed with the traders. “The rise in land price has become a cause of concern for the traders. The worst affected are the local traders, for whom the rising price is beyond their affordability. The surge in the price of government land has also led to the rise in the prices of private land available for setting up stalls around the fair venue,” said Vinod Kumar Singh, a resident of Sonepur.

The event organiser selected by the state tourism department accepted the claims of surge in land prices. “The district administration has prohibited setting up of stalls around the main pandal ground. Till last year, around 50 stalls used to be set up around the pandal ground. Our payment to the tourism department against the bids has also increased. While we paid Rs 1 crore last year, the price has increased to Rs 1.5 crore this year,” said an executive of the event management firm that is organising the Sonepur Mela.

The residents have also claimed that the mela is losing its traditional charm. “Goldsmiths from Rajasthan and cloth merchants from Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, who used to come in large numbers, have stopped coming lately. While there used to be 1,000-2,000 elephants at Sonepur Mela, now there are hardly five or 10 of them. At present, the mela has turned into a market for high-tech equipment and consumer durables,” said Singh.