Kolkata, November 18: West Bengal government today banned cultural programmes, seminars or exhibitions at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan at Salt Lake and Kshudiram Anusilan Kendra near Eden Gardens.
“Musical soirees and other cultural programme shows would not be allowed inside Yuba Bharati Krirangan, to prevent the artificial turf in the ground being damaged,” State Sports Minister Kanti Ganguly told reporters.
Ganguly, however, said the recent programme by Oscar-winning music maestro A R Rahman was allowed by his predecessor Subhas Chakraborty and fees were also deposited before he took over, and thus he had nothing to do with it.
Saying that he was against allowing sports grounds or complexes for some other reasons, Ganguly said their maintenance costs the government about Rs 25 lakh annually.
“We do not want the artificial turf to get damaged and affect the development of sports,” he said.
-Agencies