Grand arrangement for Vedvyas Mela planned to mark 105 years

Rourkela: Organisers have decided to celebrate the 105th year of the annual Vedvyas Mela in a grand way this year. Keeping in view the large number of devotees expected at the fifteen-day Vedvyas Mela, the local administration, along with members of Vedvyas Trust Board, today held a meeting here to make all necessary arrangements for smooth and peaceful conduct of the festival.

Rourkela ADM, Rabindranath Mishra, president of the Trust Board, along with other departmental officials and Trust Board members discussed a host of issues on infrastructural issues like road maintenance, colouring the concrete gates and Saraswati Kund, proper illumination, water supply, sanitation and cleanliness, maintenance of law and order situation, medical assistance, ambulance provisioning, volunteers, social and charitable service, cultural programmes and business activities of small vendors.

The ADM underscored the need for maintaining proper fire safety, sanitation, lightning facilities and crowd control. The ADM said around 30 firemen will be engaged while 50 civil defence volunteers will be pressed into service to keep vigil on all stalls and event areas.

Vedvyas Temple

A food inspector has been directed to check the quality of food stuff at the Mela ground. Three generators have been arranged for emergency cases i.e. for possible power cuts during the event. An additional SP has been told to oversee the deployment of required police forces at the mela ground. Municipality and PWD officers were directed to check road works from Vedvyas Chowk to the temple, placement of dustbins for dumping of plastic bags and garbage instead of putting them in the river, installation of water tanks for drinking water, putting up of barricades in the temple premises and the river side areas.

ADM further directed the respective departmental officers to discharge surplus water from Mandira Dam to Sankh and Koel Rivers on both March 6 and 7 due to shortage of water level seen in these rivers.    

This year the festival will start from March 10 and continue till March 24. The mela will have more than 800 stalls while 30 to 40 extra stalls will be made for exhibiting exclusive items from different states and also with district handicrafts stalls, informed Anupam Ray, Secretary, Vedvyas Trust Board. For erection of stall in the mela, a sum of Rs. 500 will be collected from every individual excluding electricity charge, he added.

“As the festival will complete 105 years this year, the trust has planned to do it in a special way”, said Ray. Every year, lakhs of devotees from different parts of Odisha and neighbouring states like Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh visit the mela. This year also the temple trust is expecting lakhs of devotees to participate in this big event, added Ray.

On the occasion of Maha Shiv Ratri, the Trust Board has arranged a ‘Bhajan Sandhya’ to attract devotees.

Notably, Shiv Ratri is observed in a grand way at Vedvyas, Rourkela. The place has mythological importance.