(Image source from: NDTV.com)

Kerala government has issued orders canceling all State-sponsored festivals against the backdrop of the unprecedented floods of the last fortnight.

With this, the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) and the State School Arts Festival, two crucial events in Kerala's cultural calendar, would not take place this year. Competitions that usually form part of the State school arts festival would be held up to the district level without the normal fanfare.

The government has likewise made it clear-cut that all festivals being organized with the financial assistance of the State government, including programmes of Kerala Tourism, would stand canceled. It has asked all heads of departments to remit the sums budgeted for the festivities in the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).

By Sowmya Sangam