A worker dismantles a pandal at the site of the Khandagiri Jatra Festival on Wednesday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 15: Lovers of jatra have reason to be disappointed. The Khandagiri Jatra Festival came to an abrupt end yesterday though the organisers had declared that it was to continue till today.

The staging of traditional plays at the six pandals, set up near Khandagiri Square, ended following the intervention of the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar police. The police insisted on ending the festival as they had granted permission for shows only for 10 days — from February 4 to February 13.

Lovers of the traditional plays from the city and elsewhere were forced to go back home without catching the jatra in spite of having bought tickets for the February 14 shows. The organisers will have to refund the ticket money.

“I went through a lot of trouble to get five tickets for my family. But when we reached the venue, the organisers said the play would not be performed,” said jatra enthusiast Nityananda Jena.

The organisers alleged that lack of co-ordination between various government departments was responsible for the cancellation of the additional shows.

“We had obtained no-objection certificate from the general administration department, the Bhubaneswar Municipality Corporation, the Central Electricity Supply Utility of Odisha (Cesu) and the fire prevention department for staging the jatra shows for 12 days. But, the police granted permission only for 10 days with an assurance to extend it for another two days,” said Ajay Jena, secretary of the Maa Mangala Sanskritika Parishad.

However, the police denied this. “We had never told them that permission would be extended. We have granted permission for staging jatra shows for 10 days, and so we stopped the shows,” said a senior police officer of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar police.

The move has resulted in huge losses to the organisers as well as the jatra troupes. Nearly 4,000 people watch plays in each pandal every night and the 15 participating opera troupes generate nearly Rs 3 lakh from a single show. During the 10-day period, the jatra troupes have made nearly Rs 1.8 crore.

“Mismanagement by the authorities has adversely affected this year’s fair. The authorities must do something to make a success of the fair which is a centuries-old tradition,” said Rashmi Kanta Mishra, secretary of the Khandagiri Surakhya Manch.