And the show goes on – with Modi on WCF dais

AoL extravaganza begins amid heavy showers

GN Bureau | March 11, 2016


#NGT   #religion   #culture   #environment   #Yamuna   #Delhi   #World Culture Festival   #Art of Living   #Narendra Modi   #Sri Sri Ravi Shankar  
Sri Sri Ravishankar and PM Narendra Modi at the inaugation of the World Culture Festival
Sri Sri Ravishankar and PM Narendra Modi at the inaugation of the World Culture Festival

Activists, courts, and finally even the rain could not stop Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s World Culture Festival. Prime minister Narendra Modi too ignored alerts about its rickety dais and attended the inauguration of the three-day event in the Yamuna flood plains

In a symbolic development open to interpretation, an unseasonal drizzle started in the afternoon, developing into heavy showers just when the show was scheduled for the start at 5 pm Friday afternoon, but the organisers bravely went on, participating artists covered themselves with polythene sheets, and the dignitaries on the dais – including justice RC Lahoti who delivered the welcome – too were given protection against weather.

Rains and thunderstorms unsettled quite a few people at the venue. The Indian meteorological department (IMD) had predicted heavy rain and thunderstorm for this weekend. A brief spell of shower failed to dampen the spirit of the participants who ran looking for shade. Heavy gusts of winds also blew away some plastic furniture.

Meanwhile, protests continue over the venue chosen for hosting the festival. The national green tribunal (NGT) had fined Rs AoL 5 crore for not adhering to guidelines issued by Delhi development authority (DDA). It had asked AoL to deposit the fine by Friday 4 pm. But it relaxed its rules and has allowed them to deposit Rs 25 lakh by Friday. The remaining amount can be deposit within the next four weeks.






 

Comments

 

Other News

How health camps offer great learning opportunity for medical students

“They also serve who only stand and wait.” This phrase of poet John Milton sums up the essence of quiet service, those individuals, without any titles or acknowledgement, contributing to society. For medical students, serving in public health camps is just such a quiet and transformati

Is BharatNet digging too deep?

India’s ambition to become a digitally empowered society rests on the premise that every citizen, regardless of geography, should have access to reliable and affordable internet. At the heart of this mission is BharatNet, a flagship programme launched by the government of India to provide high-speed

WAVES Summit: A Global Media Powerhouse

In 2019, at the inauguration of National Museum of Indian Cinema, prime minister Narendra Modi had expressed his wish to have a forum of global repute similar to the World Economic Forum, Davos, for India’s media and entertainment (M&E) industry. That wish became reality with the WAVES Summit in

India’s silent lead crisis

Flint, Michigan, was a wake-up call. Lead contamination in water supplied to homes in that American city led to a catastrophic public health emergency in 2014, which is yet to be fully resolved. But India’s lead poisoning crisis is ten times worse- larger, quieter, and far most devastating. Nearly ha

‘Dial 100’: A tribute to the police force and its unsung heroes

Dial 100  By Kulpreet Yadav HarperCollins, 232 pages, Rs 299  A wife conspires with her ex-lover to mur

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now





Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter