All section CloseFlouting Rules Like A Boss: From Misusing The Army To Forcibly Evicting Farmers Off Their Land
9 March 2016 3:37 AM GMT
Image Source: bhaskar
Controversies surrounding the Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living World Culture Festival 2016 don’t seem to stop. After President, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may also not take part in the event on the pretext of “security threat”. The event is to be held on the bank of Yamuna river, Delhi from the 11th to 13th of March.
National Green Tribunal(NGT) today while hearing the case questioned the Centre as to why no environmental clearance is required for erecting structures in Yamuna Flood plains for three-day ‘World Culture Festival’. This year marks the 35th anniversary of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s ‘Art of Living’ organization owing to which this year’s festival is being planned on a much larger scale than usual. About 3.5 million people from over 152 countries are estimated to be present at the gala in Delhi.
Flaunting the rules like a boss:
- NGT noted that the organizers have exceeded the permission granted by the Delhi Development Authority(DDA) on Tuesday.
- An expert committee’s report pointed out damage on 60 acres of land on the banks of Yamuna. He also said that the required 7-acre stage set up for the event will not hold unless the foundation is below the earth surface which would result in destabilizing the fragile banks of Yamuna.
- No clearance was given by the police and fire departments, which put the 35 lakh devotees on risk and no person will be held accountable for any mishappening.
- The organizers’ plan to releasing ‘enzymes’ into 17 drains joining the Yamuna for cleaning the river.
- The Delhi Police has warned of “stampede”, “pandemonium” and “utter chaos” unless shortcomings in the arena for the World Culture Festival, being organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living Foundation on the Yamuna floodplains, are attended to immediately.
Army said can’t do But Forced To Build Bridge
The Army was called in to build floating bridges across the Yamuna for the grand festival. As per various reports, army refused to make the bridge and said so on file. Senior officers were not ready to guarantee complete safety to the attendees of the event but were asked to continue with the construction. The reason given by the organizers for involving the army was the risks accompanying the attendance of various high-ranking officials. Around 120 personnel had been assigned to the task.
Pictures of army officials and trucks at the event site went viral on social media on Monday which made eyes roll. The military’s involvement drew a lot of criticism in the beginning but the mega festival faces a larger crisis.
WATCH: Army personnel construct pontoon bridge in Delhi for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s World Culture Festival. This has caused a huge controversy as questions are being asked whether it was right to make members of country’s security forces to work for a private event.
Posted by Janta Ka Reporter on Monday, March 7, 2016
Agony to the farmers:
For the sake of this large-scale celebration of culture numerous farmers have been displaced from their land, cutting them off from their only source of income. To clear up land for creating parking space a large stretch of land has been cleared up resulting in forcible eviction of several farmers. One of the affected farmers, Mohammad Ibram, said that on February 23rd a police team along with some event organizers arrived to ask them to vacate their land. He said “My brother Salman opposed the move along with his friend, Yameen, who resides near the toll plaza, and Shiv Kumar, who lives near Hanuman Mandir in Chilla Khadar. This was not liked by the Mayur Vihar police personnel who booked all three of them on non-bailable charges and arrested them. The three were subsequently sent to judicial custody and are lodged in Tihar Jail.”
While the three men are facing charges, the rest of the unfairly displaced farmers have lost all their investments into their crops. Their lands were razed by bulldozers even before the families could recover their crops. On the pretext of illegally occupying government land, these poor farmers were threatened for expressing their anguish. With minimum compensation being offered the farmers have no choice but to retaliate.
The NGT will continue the hearing tomorrow and a verdict is expected before lunch. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has said that the event planners have been environmentally conscious and is hopeful that the event will go on as planned.
The Logical Indian strongly condemns the way the army was being used for a private function. We pride on our soldiers and this is a disrespect to use them for a private event. We hope that justice is served to the farmers and those who have been imprisoned over this issue. Scenarios, where extremely fragile environments are put into danger, must be completely avoided.
You can read on the ecological damage being done to the Yamuna and Sri Sri comments on the issue here: Art Of Living May Be Fined Rs. 120 Crore For Ecological Damage, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Hits Back
Contributors
Written by :
Edited by :
Partner Story
An Ode To Positivity: adidas Brings Stories Of #UnRealFans Of Real Kashmir FC
Global sportswear giant ‘adidas’ and Jammu & Kashmir based football club ‘Real Kashmir FC’ partnered during the last season of I-league. adidas came up with this collaboration to emphasise upon one of its core believes – ‘Through sport, we have the power to change lives’ and let the nation cheer for Kashmir like never before.
It is true that in sports, winning hearts are more challenging than winning matches. RKFC with their unbending resilience did just that! It was a spectacle to see the name of RKFC echoing from all over the country including social media that remained abuzz with exalting adoration of the team by the ‘#UnRealFans’. The team’s excellent gameplay and exceptional sportsmanship made even the football fans of other clubs cheer for RKFC pleasantly giving birth to some ‘never seen before’ #UnRealFans in their very first appearance, last season. The undiluted love for the team, however, did not turn around the easy way! The team that also goes by a popular name ‘Snow Leopards’ have had to endure extreme temperatures and numerous challenges in the process of preparation.
Looking at the way Indian hearts welled up with inspiration and respect for the team, adidas stepped up to make it all the more special. In its own bit, the brand found its way to acknowledge the ardent support by the fans to RKFC by dedicating this season to the “#UnRealFans Of Real Kashmir” by unveiling the jersey launch for the next season. These are real fans who in the all unreal terms proved how much they appreciate RKFC’s journey by giving standing ovations to the team as they travelled across the country for their away games. These fans did not switch loyalties with their own club but definitely erased all boundaries and supported without any inhibition and full fervour to the RKFC.
The high decibel cheers of the unreal fans stand as a testimony to how it indeed changed lives. These stories of Unreal fans of real Kashmir have left the nation amazed in disbelief with their commitment to the team and rightly so! Their inspiring, one of a kind stories of the unreal fan following has too much and too little to say!
Depiction Of An #Unrealfan Story Of Madhavan Nair. Watch It To Believe It!
Madhavan Nair – a true portrayal of such #UnRealFans from Kerala, who despite being a committed fan of his team showed astounding support to Real Kashmir FC for their unbending grit and a winning comeback.
Another Sharp Portrayal Of #Unrealfans From Bengal- Anirban Sen. Watch It To Believe It!
Sometimes all things unimaginable can shape into the best of stories! Another beautiful representation of all #UnRealFans hailing from West Bengal. This dedicated fanboy who has had unflinching support for Bengal Football Club has now also stepped up to cheer for RKFC. The fact that RKFC qualified for the league in just 3 years changed him into a diehard RKFC fan as many such football fanatics in India.
Depiction Of A ‘No-Sport Fan’ To ‘#Unrealfan Of RKFC’, Priya Represents Almost 2/3rd Of India’s Population!
Isn’t it impossible for someone with less interest in sports suddenly showers inclination to watching a sport? Well, guess what? This story represents the believable aspect of sport i.e. ‘With Sport, we have the power to change lives.’
Indeed, RKFC is not just winning matches but are also winning hearts.
The Real Kashmir FC have proved why sports is not just about winning or losing, it’s essentially about the ‘never give up’ attitude. The overwhelming love that the unreal fans from all over the country have given to the club justly inspires the coming generations to challenge the circumstances and rise beyond their limitations.
Join adidas #UnRealFan brigade of RKFC and cheer for this team who have won hearts in the true spirit of sportsmanship.
