Adivasi Mela begins in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday inaugurated the annual Adivasi Mela at the IDCOL Exhibition Ground here. Adivasi Mela will continue till February 9.

This year, the annual tribal fair has been shifted to the new venue from the Adivasi ground at Unit-I area in the capital city.

As many as 145 stalls were set up in the fair, of which majority were put up by the project areas of Integrated Tribal Development Agencies (ITDA) of the state government, NGOs and a number of self-help groups.

After inaugurating the fair, the Chief Minister also visited some stalls and interacted with the tribals, who have put up stalls.

At the fair ground, people of different primitive tribal communities coming from Koraput, Malkangiri, Kandhamal, Kalahandi construct mud houses, paddy fields, gardens, backyards exhibiting their life style, process of cultivation, harvest, food, dress and cultural practices in a makeshift village.

Apart from this, tribal food court will offer mouth-watering delicacies of different tribal communities and special delicacies like cakes, Mutton-Mudhi and Chicken Pitha.

Besides, tribal dance and music will also be performed by different tribal troupes every evening.

There are 62 tribal communities in the state, of which 13 communities belong to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).

Adequate security and parking arrangements have been made for a hassle free fair. Besides, traffic has been regulated at Ram Mandir square for the Adivasi Mela.