Cuttack, Nov. 19: The scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes has hit the cash-based dry fish business at Bali yatra, which this year witnessed a 70 per cent drop in sales this year compared to previous years.
"It's already the sixth day of the annual fair, but we have hardly done any business," said Ashok Behera, a dry fish trader from Astarang, who has been coming to Bali yatra for the last 30 years.
"We had no option but to turn away many customers who wanted to buy fish with old currency notes," said Ashok's wife Charu.
Hundreds of dry fish traders like Ashok and Charu, who come to Bali yatra every year and do brisk business, have been left high and dry this year due to the currency ban.
With its characteristic pungent smell, dry fish has been an integral part of the Bali yatra fair for years. People not only from the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack but also from distant places come to the fair to buy dry fish every year.
On an average, dry fish worth Rs 30 lakh to Rs 35 lakh is sold at Bali yatra every year, with the cost of the fish ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 250 a kilogram.
"By this time (the sixth day of the weeklong fair), we usually sell more than 60 per cent of our dry fish stock. But this year, we have not been able to open most of our bags full of dry fish till now," said Kuni Behera, who has come to do business from Kakatpur.
Nonetheless demonetization seemed to have no effect on dry fish lovers like Prasanta Chandra Mohanty "As there is no regular dry fish market, I make it a point every year to get my quota for the entire year during Balijatra when at one time all variety of dry fish is available at one place", said Mohanty (56), who had come all the way from Kanakpur in Jagatsinghpur district.
"The sight and smell of cooked dry fish (Hilsa or Khanga) makes me as happy as the sight of long awaited ordered food in a restaurant", said Bhaskar Barik (29) of Mahamadia Bazar. Her sister Deepali (32) said, "Some prefer to have steamed dry fish with rice, while some others make a curry out of their choice of dry fish. But I enjoy cooking dry fish along with vegetables".
