State govt has increased grant to theatre groups: Basu

West Bengal minister and eminent theatre personality Bratya Basu on Sunday said efforts in some circles to belittle the work of the state government to promote theatre and art will not succeed.

Addressing the inaugural function of the 18th theatre festival here, Basu said without directly naming anyone, "The work of this government to promote theatre and other forms of art cannot be suppressed and belittled by any narrow minded opinion of some people."
Basu, who is in charge of the Science and Technology and Bio-technology departments said, "instead of the meagre grant for theatre groups during the rule of our predecessor, which did not exceed Rs 8,000-10,000, our government has increased the grant amount by several notches."
Basu said the state has allocated Rs 1.5 crore for holding the theatre festival this year, "which shows our commitment to promote the theatre movement."