Cuttack, Oct. 3: Shopkeepers who want to do brisk business during the annual Bali yatra fair will have to pay more to get a kiosk this year.

A Cuttack Sadar tehsil official told The Telegraph that the land rent for each kiosk would go up by Rs 2 per square feet this year. Earlier, the land rent was Rs 24 per square feet.

The district administration will allot land for around 1,400 kiosks spread over 44 acres for the Bali yatra this year. More than 60 per cent of the kiosks will be allocated sites on the Mahanadi riverbank.

The weeklong fair will start on November 4 (the Kartik Purnima day) and continue till November 10.

The Bali yatra near the Gadgadia Shiva Temple was for centuries limited to the adjacent Killa Maidan in front of the Barabati Fort gate. However, in 1996, the state government had extended the fair up to the riverbank.

'The land allotment process will start from October 20 and continue till November 3. Land will be allotted both in the Uparapadia (Killa Maidan) and Talapadia (riverbank) portions of the fair venue,' additional district magistrate (revenue) Cuttack Raghuram Iyer told The Telegraph today.

'The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has allowed us to hold the fair on the riverbank where it was held last year. We will abide by the NGT order to ensure compliance of all pollution norms,' Iyer said.