Folk artistes have threatened to boycott Jamboo Savari, the grand Dasara finale here on October 14, if the State government failed to hike remuneration given to them for their participation in the festivities.
Akhila Karnataka Janapada Kalavidara Okkoota State President Jojila Siddaraju demanded that each folk artiste should get remuneration of Rs 1,000 per day. As the artistes come here two days in advance to make preparations for their performance and leave a day after the finale, the government must announce Rs 5,000 for each artiste, he demanded.
Siddaraju, who addressed a press conference here on Thursday, told The Hindu that the artistes had met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bangalore on September 12 and sought hike in remuneration. The next day, Minister in-charge of Mysore district V Sreenivasa Prasad announced that the remuneration had been hiked from Rs 500 to Rs 750, he informed.
"The hike is inadequate for the artistes who perform on the 4-km long procession route here. Moreover, there is no clarity on whether the hike for each day," he said.
Mr said the folk artistes have been urging the government to increase their remuneration for Dasara since last four years. "When the artistes performing at Dasara events can get remuneration in lakhs, why cannot the folk artistes get appropriate remuneration," he asked.
The Okkoota has set September 25 as deadline for the government to consider their demand. “Otherwise, we are going to boycott the festivities,” he said.
About 1,000-1,500 artistes perform about 85 different folk forms at the Jamboo Savari every year, he said.
