Kansa in his darbar during Dhanu yatra. Telegraph picture

Sambalpur, Jan. 9: As curtains drop on the 11-day Dhanu yatra, one of the world’s biggest open-air dramas, at Bargarh today, the memories of tyrant king Kansa continue to linger.

This year, the tyrant whom people love expressed concern over the worsening traffic problem of Bargarh. He admonished offenders, although most were allowed to go after warnings. The king visited the sub-jail in the town and counselled the inmates to refrain from committing crimes in future. He also visited Bargarh police station. On his orders, the health department opened first-aid centres in the town during the festival.

While he rules Bargarh-turned-Mathura with absolute authority, Kansa has many tasks. He dethrones Ugrasen, imprisons Deveki and Basudev, hatches a conspiracy to kill Krishna and Balaram but at the same time, the despot also has a pro-people face.

Riding a caparisoned elephant, he moves around the city catching offenders on the streets and imposing fines on them. Barging into government offices and pulling up errant officials is part of the act that makes Kansa a large-than-life character, hated yet loved by the masses. The man enacting the character makes it a point to raise issues of social relevance and ensures that the problems are addressed by the local administration. For Kansa, the overriding concern is the welfare of his subjects, the tyrannical streak in him notwithstanding. He addresses problems ranging from traffic chaos to female infanticide.

“During the festival, senior district officials are summoned by the king to give details of welfare activities. The king speaks for the people of Bargarh. However, this year officials did not come to the darbar because of the code of conduct for panchayat polls was in force,” said Sureswar Satpathy, convener, implementation committee of Dhanu yatra.

“A year ago the king had ordered the then road and transport minister to run a morning bus service from Bargarh to Sambalpur so that people of Bargarh could catch the Sambalpur-Puri Intercity Express on time. The department had actually allotted a bus for the purpose. Similarly, during the Dhanu yatra of last year, the king ordered the State Bank of India authorities to open an evening branch in the town. The order was carried out,” he said.