PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Folk artists from pays of the State, associated with cultural troupes of Uttarakhand, conducted a rally and submitted a memorandum to Culture minister Satpal Maharaj through an official official concerned on Monday. Folk singer Surendra Rana from Jaunsar informed that, in light of their demands, the artists rallied from Lansdowne Chowk to the minister’s camp office. However, due to police barricades, they were unable to reach the camp office and were stopped at Hotel Pacific. Rana said that the protesters wore traditional attire during the rally to represent their culture. The protesters submitted a demand letter to the minister through the officials concerned. In the letter, they expressed concern over the current director general/secretary of the Culture department, who has divided Garhwal and Kumaon into two divisions. As a result, artists are now restricted to presenting their programmes only in their own districts, making it impossible for them to perform in other districts. This division risks limiting Uttarakhand’s rich culture to individual districts, ultimately leading to a decline in folk arts and culture, they claimed.
Rana emphasised that since the state was formed, the allocation of cultural programmes and the payment of bills in Uttarakhand have traditionally been managed by the directorate of Culture. Through this letter, they request the cancellation of hastily issued instructions from the secretary of Culture that limit the exchange of folk arts and culture among artists in Uttarakhand. He said that they are requesting him to issue an order stipulating that the directorate of Culture should once again be responsible for the allocation of cultural programmes and payment to cultural groups, as it has been for the past 25 years. Further, payments to these cultural groups should be made promptly within the financial year. He also added that they demanded that, in the case of any incidents involving artists, the Culture department must provide immediate financial support from the artist welfare fund. Additionally, they called for the immediate removal of the secretary/director general of the Culture department, who is hindering the rich cultural heritage of Uttarakhand and imposing unnecessary restrictions on folk artists
He said that if no action is taken soon regarding their requests, folk artists from across the state will unite for another demonstration and may even submit all their musical instruments to the CM.
