Cuttack, Nov. 21: Traders at Bali yatra, which concluded today, are happy with the business they did after the initial hiccups following the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

A highest of 16 lakh visitors had thronged the fair in the past three days. Police had a tough time in managing the crowd that had started pouring in much early today.

A senior police official said bulk of the parking lots were filled up by 11am and there was a continuous flow of visitors till 8pm that created problems in diverting vehicular traffic on the Ring Road.

Over 1,400 kiosks selling food items, handicrafts and other electronic as well as household articles had come up at Bali yatra.

This was the first time that adequate provision was made by administration to make the fair more spacious for free movement of visitors.

"We had made elaborate arrangements so that the crowd could move about freely inside the ground. We did not allow vendors to encroach upon the space. Dedicated vending zones were identified for them," said tehsildar Sanjeebata Ray.

Zarin Shah, a trader from Gujarat, who was here to sell white metal jewellery, was satisfied with the overall sale of Rs 3 lakh at the fair this year.

"I had done business of Rs 4 lakh last year. Though this year my sales have dropped a bit following demonetisation of higher currency notes, I am satisfied as bulk of my stock was exhausted and the remaining items will be sold by the time the kiosks wrap up," said Shah.

Mandakini Murmu, another member of a self-help group from Phulbani, said: "We eagerly wait for Bali yatra as it is one of the major fairs that helps us earn a generous amount."

"The sales were slow in the first phase of the fair, but we did brisk business in the last three days. We will continue to come to Bali yatra as we get a chance to display our products before such a large crowd from different parts of the state," Murmu added.

A kiosk selling food products made from organic farming techniques was a major crowd puller this year.

The kiosk by KASAM (Kandhamal Apex Spices Association for Marketing) registered a brisk business at the fair compared to other shops.

Be it the famous turmeric of Kandhamal or the scented Basmati rice, locally grown pulses and other spices, people opted for these products as these are free from poisonous chemicals and pesticides.

"We had done a business of nearly Rs 7 lakh last year and so far we have sold products worth over Rs 6.5 lakh this year. We hope that our sales will increase after the end of the fair tonight," said marketing officer, Jitendra Sahanai. Sahani said that, KASAM aims at supporting nearly 12,000 farmers of Kandhamal by providing adequate support and marketing opportunities to them. All the farmers are trained to use the natural farming methods, including cow dung and vermi compost instead of fertilizers, he added.

"The traders and artisans at the Pallishree mela had registered business to the tune of Rs 10 crore by yesterday, while the sales is expected to cross 12 crore by end of the fair tonight," said Bipin Rout, chief officer of Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society.