Mananchira as main venue for arts fest: cultural activists see red

Cultural activists in Kozhikode have objected to the proposal to make Mananchira Ground the main venue of the Kerala School Arts Festival scheduled to be held in the city in January first week.

In a letter to Principal Secretary, General Education, K.J. Thomas, a cultural activist, said on Tuesday that when the ground was used as the main venue of the festival in 2010, the whole place was dug up, and the green grass grown there was destroyed. It took around two years to restore the ground to its previous state.

The proposal to make it the main venue again for the 2015 edition of the festival held in Kozhikode city led to huge opposition from various quarters. The plan was eventually shelved. Mr. Thomas said Mananchira was the favourite hangout area for thousands of city residents and a major urban lung space with abundant greenery around. He urged officials not to move ahead with the proposal.

It is after a gap of eight years that Kozhikode is hosting the arts festival, the biggest such event in Asia, with around 10,000 participants from across the State attending it. There is going to be at least 38 venues. The Education department is planning to make either Mananchira Ground or Vikram Maidan, which is under the custody of the Army, the main venue.

M.A. Johnson, functionary of the Darshanam Samskarika Vedi in the city, said converting Mananchira as the main venue for various competitions might lead to unending traffic snarls in the area. City residents might also be not able to unwind themselves there in the evenings. The beautiful sculpture installed in the middle of the ground might have to be shifted elsewhere to construct a big stage and other facilities. These things would disfigure the premises, he said.

P.K. Gopi, poet, too termed the proposal unscientific. He said the presence of a large number of vehicles around the ground would choke the heart of the city more. The common people should not be asked to pay for the new construction, he added. Mr. Johnson suggested that the authorities look for alternative spaces such as Sarovaram Ground or Freedom Square stage on the Kozhikode beach.