Chandipur beach fest from Jan 11

Baleswar is all set to host the annual golden beach festival at Chandipur scheduled to be held from Thursday.

The four-day grand festival, from January 11 to 14, would e held with much fanfare. The festival will witness cultural  programmes each evening by the artists of Odisha and other States.

The  local defence units , mainly the Proof and Experimentalestablishment (PXE) and the Integrated test range(ITR) have evinced interest to put up their counters for showcasing their guns, artilleries and missiles in the exhibition venue along with other stalls, which would be a major point of attraction.

 “There would be cultural events on each evening.  Troupes sponsored by the Eastern Zone Cultural Centre  as well as the State Culture Department would be performing  in the stage,” Beach Festival Committee secretary Biplab Mohanty said.

“However, the local artists would also be given opportunity to exhibit their talents. The other attraction would be parasailing in the beach and rafting in sea water this year,” he said.

The dances in the cultural show would include Chhau, Ranapa , Kathak, Bhart Natyam, Kuchupudi, Ghumar and Bihu etc. besides animal dance, Odishi and Sambalpuri.

“Among all others, for the hotel industry, winter is a good business time season for Chandipur and booking goes almost full during the period. During the beach festival, the inflow is very high,” a hotelier in Chandipur, Mohammad Alam said.

“Chandipur beach has got a boost after its infrastructure has been developed under the Tourist Circuit Development Programme. Illumination and stone patching have beautified the beach,” tourist officer Ajay Mohapatra said.