Patna, Dec. 8: Patna High Court today cracked the whip on indecent theatre and dance shows at the ongoing Sonepur cattle fair.

A division bench of the court, while hearing a petition, directed the Bihar government to ban all such shows and also asked the authorities to submit an action-taken report.

Theatre and dance troupes have been coming to the annual fair for many years and despite reports of some of them crossing the limits of decency, the authorities have taken little action.

The petition in question was filed on the basis of a television news report, which showed women in scanty clothes making vulgar gestures while performing on stage.

?Most of these groups have already packed up from the fair after the district administration intervened. Such shows are held at night and we are verifying if any objectionable groups are still performing at the fair. The court order will help impose a total ban all such shows,? sources at the police headquarters said.

The Sonepur fair is the biggest cattle fair in the region, where domestic animals and pets are traded. The cattle fair in its present form ? also known as the Hariharshetra Mela ? dates back several decades. The fair goes on for nearly a month. This year, it began on November 25 and will conclude on December 19.

The district administration plays an important role in organising the fair and maintains an approximate record of the trade conducted at the venue, located near the confluence of the Gandak and the Ganges. Preliminary reports put the number of animals traded so far at nearly 30,000, mostly milch cattle, oxen and pets.

?Most of the theatre groups that come to the fair are from Uttar Pradesh. A large number of cattle traders come to the fair from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. Since they put up at the fair for several days, theatre shows get a ready audience,? a tourism department official said.

The department has put up special stalls and also made boarding facilities for the visitors as part of a package tour in a makeshift tourist village.

The tourism official said the fair has been losing its importance over the years mainly because smaller fairs held in other parts of the state have given cattle traders the opportunity to look for other business options.