Art of Living Devotees Say WCF Won’t Hurt the Yamuna

For Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s followers, the World Culture Festival is not an environmental disaster.

The launch of the Art of Living Foundation’s World Culture Festival. (Photo: The Quint)

At the launch of the Art of Living Foundation’s World Culture Festival, devotees of the foundation’s head Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said that the event would not have negative impacts on the Yamuna.

The festival took place after two weeks of hearings at the National Green Tribunal, where petitioners and environmentalists said preparations for the event and the 5 lakh people expected to attend would have devastating and lasting impacts on the Yamuna river flood plain. The Art of Living Foundation was fined an initial fee of Rs. 5 crore for the damage caused by the event. An environmental damage assessment commissioned by the National Green Tribunal will establish if the foundation should be fined more, the tribunal ruled this week.

When The Quint asked people attending the event what they thought about the fine, some devotees said the foundation should not pay as they did not do anything wrong. Devotees also said Sri Sri Ravi Shankar could do no harm and the ecosystem would be restored after the event. No one was able to say how this ecosystem restoration would take place.

Camera: Sanjoy Deb
Editor: Purnendu Pritam