-The Hindu The grandiose spectacle that the Art of Living Foundation has organised on a thousand-acre site on the floodplain of a river in Delhi to demonstrate ‘humanitarianism’ and the oneness of cultures will go down as a spectacular example of thoughtless environmental destruction. The Central and Delhi governments have, in a display of extraordinary non-application of mind, allowed a private entity to take over part of the Yamuna floodplain, an...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: Art of Living may have promised zero environmental degradation because of the three-day World Culture Festival, but the high power consumption for the event will not be without impact. The organisers will be drawing power from diesel generators, which have high emissions because of the type of fuel used. Arrangements have to be made by the organisers on their own as power distribution company, BSES, will not provide power...

-The Hindu New Delhi: Plea seeks stoppage of construction on the Yamuna floodplains for the World Culture Festival. “Has any of the agencies assessed the environmental impact of the Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living Foundation’s three-day ‘World Culture Festival’ to be held in the city starting this Friday?” asked the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday. It was hearing a plea seeking stoppage of ongoing construction on the floodplains for...

-India Today Farmers along the Yamuna have claimed that Sri Sri's Art of Living Foundation forcibly acquired land from them for an event at a low compensation. New Delhi: This comes not from areas like Beed or Vidarbha where distressed farmers commit suicide every year, but the National Capital Region itself. While a mega-show has been planned for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living (AOL) Foundation event in farmland along the...

-Hindustan Times Preparations for the three-day Art of Living event on the banks of Yamuna have reportedly forced birds to migrate from the area. New Delhi: As the site has been cleared of all bushes and vegetation, species such as larks, pipits, warblers and other rare birds found in this zone are rapidly disappearing because of the destruction of the riverine habitat. The World Culture Festival (WCF) being organised by the Art of...