THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Reportedly, the decision on bannning celebrations was okayed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan before he left for the US for medical treatment, but most departments were unaware of it. “Art and culture are medicines in the aftermath of a calamity. How can you declare a moratorium on them? The state will look like a graveyard. I have asked the chief secretary for clarity on the order,” said A K Balan.
School and college arts fests provide youngsters with opportunities to showcase skills which they have honed through the year. Moreover, state-sponsored celebrations provide artists a means of livelihood. In the case of the IFFK, the event is a globally renowned one and keenly awaited by the film fraternity, Balan said.
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The order also sowed confusion regarding the conduct of Tourism Department’s Kerala Travel Mart, slated to be held in Kochi this month-end. The tourism minister has taken the stand that KTM is not a celebration, but a business summit.Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar said the order cannot be interpreted as a ban on seminars or workshops. The Agriculture Department had earlier planned to hold the 2018 edition of VAIGA (value addition and income generation in agriculture) international workshop and exhibition in December. The department has not yet decided whether to cancel it or not, he said.
On its part, the Opposition too is not keen on a blanket ban on festivities. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala called it impractical and said the Opposition was never consulted.“Festivals like IFFK and school arts fest can be held without much fanfare or additional expenses. In the case of the Onam celebrations, it was different because it came in the midst of the calamity. But IFFK was held last year just after the Ockhi calamity,” he said.Meanwhile, the State Literacy Mission cancelled all programmes planned to mark International Literacy Day. Seminars scheduled for this month have been cancelled.
More officers to be deputed for survey
T’Puram: The Cabinet sub-committee has decided to complete the distribution of the immediate assistance of I10,000 granted for each of the families displaced by the floods, at the earliest. The meeting also decided to depute more officers for the collection of details of the affected people.