Art of ‘cover-up’ on Yamuna floodplain
NEW DELHI: Millions of bits of plastic, chunks of carpet, biscuit wrappers and bottles are strewn for miles and enmeshed into the soil at the Yamuna floodplain that hosted the World Culture Festival a month ago, HT found on Saturday.
The garbage and construction waste that might have irreparably damaged the area’s fragile ecosystem are hidden from plain sight. There are vast stretches of green grass, cattle grazing in the field and even some birds chirping in the distance.
But a closer look punctures claims made by spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living Foundation that the festival it hosted had a negligible impact on the floodplain.
HT found plastic sheets, wrappers and empty bottles of Ravi Shankar’s brand of biscuits and packaged water lodged into the soil at many spots.
The area around the stage — touted to be the world’s largest — is still filthy, with construction waste such as brick and mortar, and plastic in different forms, scattered all over.
The mega event was held on 1,000 acres of land on the Yamuna banks and featured 35,000 musicians and dancers, newly built dirt tracks and 650 portable toilets, in addition to the seven-acre stage.
The festival ran into controversy days before its opening ceremony with environment groups accusing organisers of ripping up vegetation and ruining the river’s fragile ecosystem by damaging its bed and disrupting water flows.