Did culture minister favour AOL with Rs 2 crore grant?

March 10, 2016 11:29

Sreenivasan Jain reports in ndtv.com that 'in December, the ministry of culture, headed by Mahesh Sharma, sanctioned Rs 2.25 crore for the three-day event of Sri Sri's Art of Living Foundation beginning in New Delhi tomorrow.

The funding, he says, 'was allotted to the Vyakti Vikas Kendra Trust in Bengaluru, run by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, as part of the culture ministry's programme of financial assistance to cultural organisations.'

Sreenivasan Jain quotes Sanjeev Bhargava of SEHER, which organises cultural events, as saying that a grant of Rs 2 crore from the government for an individual event is unheard of. 'Normally, the ministry at best would agree to give Rs 15-20 lakh.'

But Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma counters it by saying, 'The government routinely supports events that promote tourism and culture. And, the organisers have not done anything illegal or in clandestine manner.'

You can read the report here.

Meanwhile, The Telegraph, Kolkata, reports that 'the Central Public Works Department has cautioned police that the temporary stage constructed at the site has been designed for horizontal loads of unidirectional force generated by wind speed of 4.7 metres per second, against the Bureau of Indian Standards specification of 47 metres per second.'

In a letter to Delhi's deputy commissioner of police in charge of the prime minister's security, the CPWD said 'the safety of the supporting system had been further compromised because of the absence of ground preparation and compaction, inadequate-sized base plates resulting in excessive soil bearing pressure and use of corroded worn-out pipes.'

You can read this report here.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

IPL Play-Offs: SRH Through; CSK Or RCB?

With SRH qualifying with just a point, the CSK vs RCB game has become a knockout match.

Supreme Court: ED can't arrest accused after...

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said when an accused appears before a court in pursuance of a summons, the agency will have to apply to the court concerned to get his custody.

Mamata's ploy to...: Cong's Adhir on INDIA olive branch

Chowdhury termed Banerjee as an "opportunist politician" who altered her stance after realising the changing political landscape.

11 killed in lightning strikes in Bengal's Malda

The district administration has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased, he said.

Swati Maliwal 'assault': FIR registered against Kejriwal's aide

The BJP attacked Kejriwal after he refused to comment on the Maliwal "assault" matter during a press conference in Lucknow. He was flanked by Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh.