President Pranab Mukherjee’s office said that he will skip the ‘World Culture Festival’ organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living (AOL) citing security reasons.
According to India Today, The Special Protection Group (SPG) has cited security concerns. The PM, who is scheduled to inaugurate the event on March 11, is yet to confirm his participation. However, sources said that he is skeptical to attend the event. The event will include yoga and meditation sessions, peace prayers by Sanskrit scholars and traditional cultural performances from around the world.
Agencies also fear a stampede because of the poor evacuation plan in case of any emergency. Only two pontoon bridges are in place though seven bridges were proposed initially. According to the information provided by sources to India Today, the river bed is not safe to accommodate such a large gathering.
AOL also told the National Green Tribunal that the fire department is yet to give the organizers its clearance.
Modi government’s decision to use soldiers of the Indian army to help build the walls and bridges for the event was heavily criticized by the Congress. The party members called the act ‘shameful’ and asked him whether the act was an example of ‘his type of nationalism and patriotism’.
The Congress on Tuesday said that the event would be a “slap on the face of environmental laws”.
Hindustan Times reported that according to Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit the ‘NGO’ responsible for the event hadn’t considered the environmental damage that the festival might cause. “Yamuna banks will be destroyed. Yamuna will get more polluted. But nobody is listening,” said Dikshit.
He added, “Unfortunately, the DDA, Delhi Police, Delhi government supported it because it’s a programme with religion involved. The environment is always sacrificed at the altar of religion and populism.”
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that the decision to use soldiers to create bridges was to ensure that any form of security threat is neutralized considering the safety of the large number of people expected to attend the three-day event starting on Friday.
In an exclusive interview with Aaj Tak, Parrikar said the Indian Army had earlier helped organize large-scale events like the Kumbh Mela which attracts several people. “It was done with the sole purpose of avoiding accidents.”
