SAMBALPUR: Three international dance troupes will participate in Lok Mahotstav-2012 that will start at Sambalpur’s Gangadhar ground from Wednesday evening. Ghana’s Wind African band, Nepali dance and Bhutan’s mask dance would be staged in the festival for the first time.
Sambalpur collector Mrinalini Darswal said the administration took the consent of the Election Commission before organizing the festival in view of the panchayat polls.
She said six troupes from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Assam are also participating in the three-day event.
“We are trying to make the event more colourful and attractive. This year Rs 14 lakh is being spent and it is 20 per cent more than the previous year,” Darswal, who is also chairman of the district culture society, said.
Coordinator of the event Sapan Mishra said 750 artistes of 23 dance troupes from across the state and outside will participate in the Lok Mahotsav. Mishra said the event will start with a street procession of the artistes in the morning. He said the thrust is on reviving few dances of western Odisha.
