Thiruvananthapuram ∙ Even after a month, most of the artists who performed in the ‘Keraleeyam’ Mela organized by the state government in the capital on the occasion of the birth of Kerala have not been paid. While the ‘VIP’ artistes were paid huge sums of money on the spot, even the tribal-traditional artists who were struggling to make ends meet were not even paid food allowance.
More than 300 artists from different parts of the state performed in Kerala for 7 days from November 1 at various venues in the city. Art programs are organized under the supervision of various institutions under the Department of Culture, but the funds for this do not belong to the Department. Keralayam is a special fund.
The budget of the art programs was around 5 crore rupees. But only Rs 2.1 crore was sanctioned in the first phase. This amount was given to prominent artists and the needy. Another Rs 70 lakh was sanctioned a few days ago. Most of the tribal and traditional artists, who still receive meager remuneration, have been neglected. Some were given only partially. While the organizers arranged accommodation, food and travel facilities for all the VIP artistes, it was promised that all the ordinary artists would be given a daily food allowance of 250 rupees each.
10.82 crore was collected
Revealing that Rs 10.82 crore has been collected through sponsorship for Keralayam programme. Out of this, the tourism department has spent Rs 10.66 crore on 16 items such as exhibition, lamp-lighting and cultural programs. The amount was revealed by explaining that the account opened in the name of PRD director was reached in an application filed by Manorama News under the Freedom of Information Act.
English Summary:
‘Keraleeyam’ Mela artistes still unpaid even after a month
2023-12-20 22:58:17
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