The indulgence in largesse that is the World Cultural Festival has been slapped with Rs 5 crore fine by the National Green Tribunal but the event has been allowed to go on.
If the environmentalists are to be believed then the organisers of the festival have uprooted vegetation and ruined large patches of land to create the festival ground, which is located on the banks of the Yamuna river.
This is rumoured to be over 100 acres in area, with a stage that will be around seven acres big, large enough to hold thousands of musicians. The event is expected to draw 35 lakh visitors. This will certainly generate massive amounts of garbage as well as create a ridiculously huge carbon footprint.
This is a very big festival, which comes only a few months after
India championed climate change procedures at a summit in
Paris. If there were so many violations found by the NGT, and
the plans for this event were not disclosed to the authorities,
as claimed by the tribunal, then there should have been sufficient
grounds to put this festival on hold until things are put
in order. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, head of Art of Living, the organization
behind the festival, claims that he should be applauded
for staging the festival on the banks of one of India’s most
polluted rivers. But, no amount of praise can hide the fact that
this festival has caused more harm than help.
