Political bickering mars Agra religious fest

Agra, Sep 28

The annual three-day Janakpuri celebrations, an extension of the 100-year-old Ram Lila Baraat, have ended on a sour note here following differences among the organisers representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

BSP leader Shauki Kapoor, the festival's organising committee chairman, accused Ram Lila committee chairman Jagan Garg, a BJP legislator, of non-cooperation and deliberate attempts to create hurdles in the way of the Janakpuri festival, which ended Tuesday.

"From next year, we could have parallel Ram Lila Baraat and Janakpuri celebrations," Kapoor warned.

Agra's spectacular Ram Lila appears to have become a victim of "political manoeuvrings and group interests," said Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society.

Historically, the festival is run by the local Bania community, but now, a strong Punjabi lobby has begun asserting itself, said noted activist Sudhier Gupta.

To add to the woes of the organisers this year, the forest department has charged them with violating guidelines and norms relating to use of tuskers.

"We had told them not to use elephants... the wild animals could get disturbed due to noise and lighting and jeopardise the safety of the show. But they went ahead. Now they have to face the consequences," Divisional Forest Officer N.K. Janu told IANS.

Reports said one of the huge elephants carrying an actor dressed as Lord Ram got disturbed and had to be controlled. "Thank god nothing serious happened," said Manohar, a spectator.

The annual Ram Baraat is a huge procession that meanders its way through the main streets of Agra before reaching Janakpuri, a specially created divine township, where King Janak solemnises the marriage of Sita with Ram.

In the past few years, the Janakpuri celebration has overshadowed the original Ram Lila held in the field opposite the Agra Fort, as a result of corporate support through advertising and commercial promotion through hundreds of stalls.

Source: http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a250114.html

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