Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Dec. 2: The state government's decision to increase the booking rates of public grounds has not gone down well with the event organisers and political parties.

Official sources said the rate had gone up from Rs 40 per sqft to Rs 160 per sqft for a day.

On the other hand, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation has waived the user fee for the poor for holding wedding events. Secretary of the Ekamra Pustak Mela Committee Bhaskar Jena said the decision would certainly hit the organisers. "With the hike in booking rates, organisers may start charging entry fees for events. This would affect footfalls and also the business," he said.

The most prominent venue for exhibitions and fairs in the city is the exhibition ground at Unit-III. Many events are also organised in several janata maidans as well.

Asish Kumar, who is involved in organising a home and décor exhibition, said the hike in booking rate would compel the organisers to pass the burden on the visitors.

"At present, most events in the city that are held in open exhibition spaces do not require visitors to pay entry fees. But now, with the hike in booking rate, people may have to pay entry fee," he said.

The Opposition parties have also reacted strongly on the move. BJP state vice-president Samir Mohanty said the move was aimed to discourage the opposition from holding rallies and meetings at public grounds. "This is a dictatorial step and would affect not only the political parties, but also event organisers and people," he said.

However, a general administration department official said the decision was aimed to draw more revenue for better facilities and maintenance of the grounds. "This is a routine revision and is based on market correction," he said.

On the contrary, the civic body council decided yesterday that a person belonging to below poverty line (BPL) category and ration cardholder will no longer have to pay the user fee of Rs 5,000 for using public space for holding marriages or other social functions.

This decision comes in wake of resentment among people over collection of the user fee levied by the civic body to maintain sanitation and proper disposal of solid waste generated near marriage function venues.

At present, several people are organising marriage functions in public places after sealing of kalyan mandaps functioning in an unauthorized manner in various parts of the city.