Over 300 coal town theatre artists are facing extreme penury due to the lack of permission for drama festivals, shows and functions during lockdown and are demanding honorarium from the government to sustain life.

Many of them, deprived of ration cards, are facing difficulty to procure food while others suffering from ailments are facing difficulty in treatment for themselves and their family members.

Talking to The Telegraph Online, 58-year-old Basistha Prasad Sinha, founder of Bhuli based theatre organisation, Kalniketan, said, “Most of the 30 members of our organisation as well as other artists of over 29 other organisations, 13 of which are empanelled with the district public relation department for performance in government functions and awareness drives are passing through difficult times since March last year.”

“A Bhuli based senior artist of our organisation, Ranjit Mishra,52, is suffering from a serious lung infection since April 11 and had to spend his entire savings and was even compelled to take debts for his treatment due to lack of any support from government for artists,” said Sinha.

“Dhanbad MLA, Raj Sinha, visited our centre at Bhuli earlier this month and provided food grains to around 18 artists suffering from the crisis but food is daily necessity and unless we get opportunity to work and earn it will be difficult to sustain with the limited help provided by one or other individual organisations,” said Sinha.

Sinha, a native resident of Jehanabad in Bihar who migrated to Dhanbad in 1981 and after completing his graduation and post graduation from RSP College and from Ranchi university respectively established Kalaniketan in Bhuli in 1983, has won over 200 awards all across the country as part of drama competitions.

“My entire family including wife Nutan Sinha, and four children including three daughters Divya Sahay (27), Shaivya Sahay (25), Nitya Sahay (22) and son Akash (19) also perform along with me as part of our organisations and have no other source of income,” said Sinha.

“We have sent letters to the Chief Minister Hemant Soren and also wrote to other officials seeking government support in the form of honorarium but there is no response till date,” Sharda Giri, 25, president of Black Pearls, comprising of youth artists and recent college pass outs and students.

“In many of the other states, governments have fixed honorarium for registered artists so while Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh government are providing honorarium of Rs 5 thousand per month the government of neighbouring Bihar is also providing honorarium worth Rs 3000 but artist in our state who are suffering are depending on the occasional social and voluntary organisation’s support,” said Giri.