Now, another 1.14 lakh folk artists to come under Lokprasar Prakalpa

Around 1.14 lakh more folk artists will be brought under the Lokprasar Prakalpa before this Puja.

At present total 84,720 folk artists from different parts of the state have been brought under the scheme. With this addition, the total coverage under this scheme will go up to 2 lakh.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier announced that a total of 2 lakh folk artists from the state would be brought under the scheme. Following the direction of the Chief Minister, the state government officials have taken necessary steps to bring in more folk artists within its ambit. According to sources, the new members would start getting the benefits from the beginning of September.

The scheme was the brainchild of the Chief Minister and it was introduced to ensure the socio-economic upliftment of folk artists and bring about the revival of nearly extinct folk art forms.

Under the scheme, folk artistes above 60 get a pension of Rs 1,000 every month and there are around 8,596 such artists. At the same time, the remaining 84,720 artists under 60 get a retainer fee of Rs 1,000 per month. Besides disbursing the retainer fee, the state government also arranges programmes for the folk artists from across different genres.

In the first phase, the state government had included 84,720 folk artists in this scheme. After its immense success, it was decided to take the total numbers to 2 lakh.

Not only has it brought a sea change in the life of the folk artists in Bengal, it also played a key role in reviving many art forms that were on the brink of extinction.

At present, the younger generation in rural Bengal is showing a keen interest in reviving the forgotten art forms.

After the change of guard in the state, the Chief Minister introduced the scheme to resurrect both folk art and artists in Bengal. Bengal's folk artists have got a fresh lease of life under the new dispensation.