Disappointed with the lack of basic facilities and poor acoustics at Hasanamba Kalakshetra here, activists and artistes have decided to raise funds themselves to renovate the structure.
“Let the people in power and officials admit that they have failed to mobilise resources to provide minimum facilities at the auditorium... we will beg before the public for money to renovate the Kalakshetra,” said R.P. Venkateshamurthy, a journalist and activist, at a press conference here on Friday.
The restrooms in the auditorium have no water supply, the lighting is poor, there is no sound system, and damaged chairs have not been replaced, he said. “This is the only place where the artistes of Hassan district can stage plays and music programmes. If the district administration has failed to maintain it properly, it shows how they little they respect the artistes of the district,” he said.
Y.S. Veerabhadrappa, another activist, said the auditorium, now under the control of the Kannada and Culture Department, was built using the contributions of the people of Hassan. “If the government cannot maintain it now, we the people of Hassan will donate money again. But for that, the government should admit their failure,” he said.
Prasanna Kumar, a member of Ranga Hridaya theatre group, said his team had staged a play — ‘Niluvangiya Kanasu’ — at the Kalakshetra on Thursday and the audience was disappointed with the poor facilities at the auditorium. “Though the performance of the artistes was good, the audience was not impressed because of the poor lighting and sound facilities. The department charges ₹7,775 a day, including taxes. This is higher than the charge at Ravindra Kalakshetra in Bengaluru,” he said. He also pointed out that there were no permanent officials under the department to maintain the building. The assistant directors have been working on deputation, he said.
Artistes and activists demanded a response from the district administration in a week.
