After Art of Living promised more than 1000 volunteers, less than 30 volunteers showed up to clean the site of the World Cultural Festival, where more than 3 lakh people came to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the foundation.
The Quint visited the site with Vimlendu Jha, environmental activist and founder of Swechha, to see some of the damage that had been caused by the festival. During the visit, Jha was approached by two Art of Living volunteers who accused him of presenting a negative image of Art of Living. The women pointed to a few volunteers picking through some of the waste left by devotees of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar during the festival.
Most of the people clearing the site are rag-pickers and contractors paid to do the work.
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