Uttarakhand / Bageshwar : Folk artists lockout in District Information Office

The Kumaon Folk Artistes Federation imposed a lockdown at the District Information Office on Saturday. He has demanded to postpone the auditions of cultural parties. He said that they are a registered party with the Department of Information and Public Relations. The Information Department is conducting auditions for all the cultural groups of Uttarakhand, while the artistes have been facing unemployment for more than two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that it is not in the interest of the actors to audition at such a time. He said that if injustice is done to the artists, then they will be forced to agitate.

Kumaon Folk Artistes Mahasangathan raised slogans in front of the office of the District Information Officer. He locked the office of the department and sent a letter to the Director General, Information and Public Relations Department. He said that the assembly elections are to be held in 2022 next year. After some time, the code of conduct will also be in place. The government has banned the Chardham Yatra and other fairs, festivals, cultural programs under the COVID-19 epidemic. He said that unemployed artistes are not ready for auditions yet. He also demanded a ban on auditions. Failure to do so warned of a violent agitation. During this, Ajay Chandola, Bhaskar Tiwari etc. of Kumaon Folk Artists Association were present.