HC asks Nayagarh collector to grant permission for fair

Cuttack: The Orissa high court on Wednesday directed the Nayagarh collector to grant permission within two days for the four-day “Bhapur Mahotsav and Pallishree Mela” after event organisers agreed to revise the programme schedule. The mahotsav is an annual cultural festival held at Bhapur from Jan 10 to Jan 13.The organisers had moved the high court challenging a Dec 15, 2025 order of the sub-collector, Nayagarh, which denied permission to hold the mahotsav from Jan 10 to 13, 2026 at Balunkeswar Dev Bidyapitha playground in Bhapur. According to sources, permission was not granted on the ground that an application by another group to organise the mahotsav was pending.When the matter came up for hearing on Wednesday, senior advocate Prafulla Kumar Rath, appearing for the petitioner organisation, informed the court that his client was willing to hold the mahotsav from Jan 12 to 15 instead of the earlier proposed dates.Acting on an earlier direction of the court, the Nayagarh collector appeared over the virtual mode and stated that the district administration has no objection to the event being organised on the revised dates, provided all conditions laid down for maintaining law and order and public safety were strictly followed.Taking note of the stand of both sides, the single judge bench of Justice S K Panigrahi directed the collector to recall the Dec 15 order.