NORTH PARAVOOR: Allegations of spot-fixing by the judges marred the third day of the 29th edition of Ernakulam Revenue School Youth festival at North Paravoor. The so-called glamour events such as Kuchipudy, Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyatam and Folk dance were the major events which came under the cloud following the allegations.
The protests from the parents in this regard also led to some unruly scenes at the main venue but timely intervention by the police prevented things from getting out of the hand. “ We can’t call this a Revenue Fest. It is purely a spot-fixing as most of the competition items have been fixed by the judges before the competition. Though the Folk Dance in the High School category for the girls was scheduled to be held after the noon section, the result of the same was available in the morning itself. How could this happen? There is no doubt that it’s spot-fixing, “ alleged Biju Sadanandan, Folk Dance teacher.
The parents also alleged that the winners in the Folk Dance competition in the UP, HS and HSS categories were decided by the same judge and all the winners were his students. “We have the audio clip of a judge, who demanded `80,000 for giving a favourable decision.
“There is no doubt that even the Deputy Director of Education has a role in this spot-fixing,” said a parent on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, some parents also came forward alleging that the result of Mohiniyattom competition was also fixed. “There was clearly mentioned in the poster that Amritha Varshini will emerge the winner in the Mohiniyattom. When the result was announced it proved unerringly true. If money were the deciding factor there was no need to stage this type of competition,” alleged Saali Rajagopal, mother of a contestant. Majority of the aggrieved parents also alleged that the appeals filed before the department did not get proper attention. However, the officials concerned told Express that there was no truth in the allegations.
“ On day one itself we removed four judges after it emerged that they had sought bribes from the parents. This poster issue is also part of these judges drama. We are here to make this festival success and not to dampen its spirit,” said an official. Earlier in the day, two Kathakali teachers staged protests at the venue for allowing a Kathakali participant to perform in normal attire.
Kathakali artists Kalamandalam Sreekumar and S Jayasree staged the protest at the venues. According to them the lack of time given to the artist for make-up had led to the incident. “ The organisers have to ensure a minimum of four hours for the contestants to don make-up. But they were given barely two hours. This is an affront to all the Kathakali artists,” they said.