- Title: Indian guru's festival on Delhi floodplain riles greens, worries police
- Date: 9th March 2016
- Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (MARCH 8, 2016) (REUTERS) CAR ON ROAD BANNER READING (English): 'WELCOME TO WORLD CULTURE FESTIVAL' VARIOUS BANNERS READING (English): 'WELCOME TO WCF 2016' A MAKESHIFT STADIUM BEING BUILT TO HOST THE MEGA SPIRITUAL/CULTURAL EVENT PROPS AT THE STADIUM PEOPLE AND CRANE MOVING DECORATIVE ELEPHANT VENUE BEING PREPARED DECORATIVE ELEPHANT AT THE VENUE MORE OF THE VENUE BEING READIED FOR THE MEGA EVENT WORKERS ON CONSTRUCTION SITE MAN WALKING DOWN A RAMP ENTRY GATE OF THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL (NGT) PEOPLE INSIDE NGT PREMISES (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENVIRONMENTALIST, ANAND ARYA, SAYING: "You see, the complete biodiversity and ecosystem of the 2,700 acres of that land has been completely destroyed, and which will take us, maybe decades, to recover and maybe, maybe never." VEGETATION AROUND THE VENUE TENTS INDIAN DEFENCE PERSONNEL BUILDING A TEMPORARY PANTOON BRIDGE AT THE VENUE DEFENCE PERSONNEL AT WORK POLICEMEN WALKING BUFFALOES SITTING ON THE YAMUNA RIVER BED PEOPLE ON A BULLOCK CART MOVING ON THE ROAD (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) LOCAL RESIDENT AND FARMER, LACHHMI BAI, SAYING: "See, we have suffered losses in our farming. We are poor people and loss has definitely occurred." VENUE BEING PREPARED WORKERS ON STAIRS DECORATIVE ARCH DECORATIVE ELEPHANTS (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) WORLD CULTURE FESTIVAL ORGANISER AND ART OF LIVING FOUNDER, SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR, SAYING: "We want the Yamuna to be clean. We want everyone to do it unitedly. We won't pollute the environment. I will repeat: we have not cut a single tree." PEOPLE WORKING AT THE VENUE WORKERS FIXING LIGHTS RIVER YAMUNA FLOWING BESIDE THE VENUE
- Embargoed: 24th March 2016 11:37
- Keywords: guru environment festival New Delhi
- Location: NEW DELHI, INDIA
- City: NEW DELHI, INDIA
- Country: India
- Topics: Environment
- Reuters ID: LVA001487IAF9
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Indian environmentalists are aghast at the hosting of a huge cultural festival on the floodplain of Delhi's main river that begins on Friday (March 11), warning that the event and its 3.5 million visitors will devastate the area's biodiversity.
The "World Culture Festival", organized by one of India's best-known spiritual gurus, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, spreads across 1,000 acres (400 hectares) on the banks of the Yamuna. It features a 7-acre stage for 35,000 musicians and dancers, newly built dirt tracks and 650 portable toilets.
Green groups accuse organisers of ripping up vegetation and ruining the river's fragile ecosystem by damaging its bed and disrupting water flows. They want authorities to cancel the event before more harm is done.
"You see, the complete biodiversity and ecosystem of the 2,700 acres of that land has been completely destroyed, and which will take us, maybe decades, to recover and maybe, maybe never," said Anand Arya, one of several environmentalists who petitioned India's top green court against the festival.
He added that 650 toilets for 3.5 million people would mean one toilet for nearly 18,000 people - a situation that would lead to serious issues of sewage and excrement disposal on the bed of a river which is already among the most polluted in the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who like Ravi Shankar is a yoga devotee, was due to attend Friday's opening, but it is not clear whether he will do so after the event sparked such uproar - and not just among environmentalists.
Delhi police have warned of "utter chaos" at the event unless safety lapses are addressed, the Indian Express reported on Wednesday (March 9), citing a March 1 letter to the federal government that says the stage lacks a structural stability certificate.
Locals who farm in the areas, say some of them have been compensated for their losses while few others complained of not having received adequate money.
"See, we have suffered losses in our farming. We are poor people and loss has definitely occurred," said Lachhmi Bai, whose family grows vegetables in the affected zone.
Ravi Shankar, who enjoys a cult following in India and abroad, has rejected the criticism. He has said he should be rewarded for hosting the event alongside one of the country's most polluted rivers.
"We want the Yamuna to be clean. We want everyone to do it unitedly. We won't pollute the environment. I will repeat: we have not cut a single tree," he told reporters in New Delhi.
His organisation's lawyer, Saraswati Akshama Nath, said necessary approvals including safety certificates were granted in December before construction began, and that the structures would be removed once the three-day festival ends.
The National Green Tribunal has recommended Ravi Shankar's Art of Living Foundation be fined 1.2 billion rupees ($18 million) to restore the land, and is expected to make its final ruling on Wednesday.
Delhi owes much of its history to the ancient cities built along the Yamuna, a 1,376 kilometre river which begins life in the Himalayas. Splitting the city into two.
Meanwhile, back at the festival site, builders are rushing to finish what they say is the world's biggest ever performing stage where they expect to have a symphony of 8,500 and 20,000 performers on stage at any one time. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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