'Bali Jatra' to be showcased in main building of redeveloped Cuttack railway station

Cuttack (Odisha): The redeveloped Cuttack railway station will showcase the city's rich cultural heritage and the 'Bali Jatra', the East Coast Railway has said.

The redevelopment of the station started in April last year and is scheduled to be completed next year. 'Bali Jatra' is a rich ancient tradition of the city and we have decided to give it a prominent space at the main station building," Chief Engineer (Construction), East Coast Railway (ECoR), Ajay Kumar Samal, said.

In olden times, the people of Odisha sailed to places such as Bali, Java, Sumatra and Sri Lanka from the banks of the Mahanadi for trade. To celebrate this maritime history of the city, the 'Bali Jatra' is held every year by locals on Kartik Purnima by organising a fair.

Samal said that "a large boat, locally called Boita, is raised on the river bed of the Mahanadi and it signifies the tradition". "The main station building will capture its (Bali Jatra) essence," he said.

"Besides, the inner walls of the station like those in the waiting area will have local tribal paintings which reflect the tradition of the city," the official said.

The redevelopment of the station is being done under the Indian Railways' Amrit Station Scheme.

In 2021, the railways had shortlisted 1,309 stations for redevelopment under the scheme. It was then decided that to protect and promote the cultural heritage of cities, it would be showcased prominently in a station's main building. The redeveloped three-storey Cuttack station will have world-class amenities for passengers such as separate arrival and departure concourses, a large food court and a modern retiring room.

The purpose of this redevelopment is to integrate the station complex with other infrastructure and facilities to provide a seamless experience to passengers as well as meet the footfall 50 years from now, Samal said.

"Sixty per cent of the construction structural work of the main building is complete and we are hoping that it will be finished as per schedule. The project has been envisaged as a self-sustained energy-efficient green building," the ECoR chief engineer said.

"In Cuttack, we will have a roof plaza concourse above the railway tracks. This will give us a lot of space to create various other facilities for passengers," he said.

Under the scheme, many stations are being redeveloped in this way to create more space and more facilities for passengers.

Samal said, "We are also constructing two footover bridges which will connect the main building (west-side entry) to east-side entry (national highway side) to ensure easier access."