State's financial aid helps about 1.95L folk artistes amid pandemic

Kolkata: The aid provided by the state government has immensely benefitted the 1.95 lakh folk artists including the elderly ones those are enrolled under Lok Prasar Prakalpa when no programme or cultural events were organised at the critical time of Covid.

This comes mainly when the folk artists did not get any scope to perform as it is not possible to organise any programmes or cultural event in the wake of Covid. The Bengal government had introduced Lok Prasar Prakalpa to provide Rs 1,000 pension per month to elderly folk artistes while the artistes between 18 and 60 years of age are also provided with a retainership worth Rs 1,000 per month besides giving opportunity for four performances every month.

According to a senior official, around 1.59 lakh folk artistes aged between 18 and 60 years are receiving the monthly retainership.

Again, around 35,000 elderly folk artists are receiving the pension as total 1.95 lakh folk artistes have been covered under Lok Prasar Prakalpa.

In the first phase, the state government had included 84,720 folk artists in this scheme and in the second phase more than 1 lakh artists were brought under the scheme taking the figure to 1.95 lakh. According to a senior official, the Chief Minister had announced release of pension of elderly people under Jay Bangla scheme in advance and thats too the amount of two months were released together. Recently, the pension for the months of September and October has been released.

Similarly, the pension for two months -September and October - together for elderly folk artists has also been directly transfered to their bank accounts at a time. A senior official of the state Information and Cultural Affairs department said: "It is not only that the elderly artists received the monthly financial assistance, but the 1.59 lakh folk artists below 60 years and above 18 years are also receiving their retainership of two months at a time," the official said.

The folk artists, including that of Chhau, Raibeshi, Natua, participate in different programmes including those of the state government. But apart from a few performances by a handful number of artists to create awareness on Covid

they had no programmes to attend.

As a result the financial assistance of the state government has helped them in supporting their means of livelihood and at the same time it helped in checking many art forms from getting extinct in the state.