You will pay fine, court tells Sri Sri's Art of Living in strong order

May 31, 2016

New Delhi, May 31: For its massive festival held on the banks of the River Yamuna in Delhi, the Art of Living, led by spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, must pay nearly five crores as a fine, the country's top environment court said today, offering strong criticism of the organization.

festivalsri

The Art of Living had been allowed to go ahead with the three-day "World Culture Festival" on the banks of the River Yamuna on the condition that it would pay a five-crore penalty for damage to the area's delicate ecosystem. Hundreds of thousands of devotees attended the event which included what was billed as the world's largest stage, spreading over seven acres.

The organizers paid Rs. 25 lakhs at the time, and said the rest would be given later. They then asked that the 4.75 crores that they owed be treated as a bank guarantee and that it should apply towards creating a biodiversity park in the area. The Art of Living "used the order of the court to hold the event and then went back on its commitment," the National Green Tribunal said today, adding that the organizes have tried multiple legal cases "in order not to pay the fine" as a result of which the "conduct of the foundation has been called into question."

Environmentalists had accused organizers of ripping up vegetation and ruining the river's fragile ecosystem by damaging its bed and disrupting water flows. Sri Sri, 60, had said he should be given an award for organizing the event. His organization said today that "we left the site in better condition than we found it" and that it is likely to take its case to the Supreme Court.

The opening of the event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though President Pranab Mukherjee dropped out after the controversy over environmental clearances erupted.

Comments

suresh
 - 
Tuesday, 31 May 2016

Dear Yogesh wake up May be you are still in dream. What is the connection between the namaz and divorce with the environmental issue created by AOL? Do you know how much damage they have done to our ecological system? Regarding three word of divorce, did it effect the ecological environment?. I think you have health issue which should be addressed first for better understand of our environmental issue. And instead of searching issue in other religion better let us solve the issues in our own religion.

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December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old NRI on his return from Saudi Arabia in connection with an Instagram post allegedly containing derogatory and provocative remarks about the Hindu religion, officials said on Monday.

The accused, Abdul Khader Nehad, a resident of Ulaibettu in Mangaluru, was working in Saudi Arabia when the post was uploaded, police said.

A suo motu case was registered at the Bajpe police station on October 11 after an allegedly offensive post circulated from the Instagram account ‘team_sdpi_2025’. Police said the content was flagged for being provocative and derogatory in nature.

During the investigation, technical analysis traced the Instagram post to Nehad, who was residing abroad at the time, a senior police officer said. Based on these findings, a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against him.

On December 14, Nehad arrived from Saudi Arabia at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, where he was taken into custody on arrival. Police said further investigation is underway.

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News Network
December 2,2025

DKSsiddu.jpg

Bengaluru: 'Nati koli saaru' (country chicken curry) considered one of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s favourites along with steaming hot idlis was on the breakfast menu at Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday, according to official sources.

The spread also included 'nati koli' fry, vada and pongal, among other items, they said.

In an apparent show of unity, Siddaramaiah visited Shivakumar’s residence for breakfast, just days after the two leaders shared a meal amid a simmering power tussle in the state Congress.

Siddaramaiah drove to the Deputy CM’s residence in Sadashivanagar, where he was received by Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh, who is a former Congress MP.

Suresh and Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath, a relative of Shivakumar, joined them for breakfast, which featured a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Speaking to reporters later, Siddaramaiah said Shivakumar had invited him during his visit to the CM’s residence for breakfast on Saturday.

Asked about the difference between the two meals, the chief minister said, "At his (Shivakumar’s) house it was non-veg, while at my house it was veg. He is a vegetarian, I am a non-vegetarian. I had not prepared non-veg. I told DK to get chicken from the village as you won’t get the original in Bengaluru."

Shivakumar said he had initially invited Siddaramaiah to his residence, but the CM had suggested visiting his place first and reciprocating later. "It was a vegetarian breakfast at the CM’s house on Saturday," he noted.

"Today, I invited him (the CM) to my house. He enjoyed the breakfast, which had his Mysuru taste," Shivakumar added. At this point, Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar’s wife is also from Mysuru.

Saturday’s breakfast at Siddaramaiah’s official residence, held as part of efforts by the Congress high command to ease tensions in the leadership dispute between the two, reportedly included idlis and sambar, according to official sources.

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