Lok Virsa asked to start 'one village one culture' programme

ISLAMABAD - Chairman National Assembly Standing Committee on Culture Raza Hayat Hiraj has asked the Lok Virsa to come up with 'one village one culture programme in next three months to promote the indigenous crafts, folklore and cultural heritage. He was chairing the committee meeting here Tuesday evening at the Lok Virsa Complex. He also suggested the National Folklore and Cultural Heritage Institute to go for public-private partnerships to organise and suitably market cultural events. It would help the Lok Virsa to attain financial sustainability, he said adding that Lok Virsa should go commercially viable programme. However, MNA Fauzia Habib disagreed with the chairmans notion to go commercial. Hiraj maintained that the minorities culture should also be on the priority of the cultural ministry, and on their special days the attached departments of the ministry should arrange special events and also make sure their participation in other national and provincial events. MNA Nasim Arshad Khan asked the cultural ministry and Lok Virsa about the selection procedure of the cultural troupes, as some blue-eyed ones have been part of troupes time again in the past. She asked the cultural organisations Lok Virsa and Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) to strictly avoid such practice in the future The Lok Virsas response to a question MNA Fauzia Habib asked about the in-house fundraising was quite ambiguous. The MNA was told that the income generation from different events and initiatives is not significant. She asked the cultural ministry to take the popular artistes into confidence to raise funds for the flash flood victims. MNA Pervaiz Khan Advocate pointed out that the visiting folk artists are neither taken care of as they deserve nor they are provided adequate stipend to visit Lok Virsa in Islamabad. He also showed his dissatisfaction over the encouraging mechanisms for the folk artists and craftsmen. Earlier, Executive Director Lok Virsa Khalid Javed gave a detailed briefing to the standing committee. He highlighted their several achievements and the future plans. The chairman Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) could not attend the meeting due to his engagement in the Courts in Karachi. He was presented by his Director General Shahrukh Hassan and another officer Sohail. Both the PEMRA representatives could not answer the questions of the committee members. Therefore, the chair asked them to come well prepared in the next meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Culture that might be arranged after Eid-ul-Fitr.