Payment made
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 07 2022: The issue of non-payment of prize money to the winner of Shirock 2022, Mizoram based rock-band 'Prophet' has been resolved with intervention by the Department of Tourism.

The department has also blacklisted the event management team 'Gigbox Production Private Limited' for mismanagement of Shirock 2022 .

PK Jha, Commissioner (Tourism), said this at a press conference held at the office of the Directorate of Tourism today and clarified that Shirui Lily Festival was organised by various sub-committees headed by different MLAs.

5 such subcommittees namely.

Executive Committee, Reception Subcommittee, Entertainment Sub-committee, Cultural Subcommittee and the District Level Co-ordination Subcommittee were formed after the first meeting of the Organising Committee chaired by the Chief Minister was held on April 20.The department has been brought to the notice that the Entertainment Sub-committee organised the particular event in question.

He clarified that the said sub-committee had identified and hired the event management company 'Gigbox Production Private Limited' and that the Department has no arrangements, agreement or contract with them.

However, when the winning band posted on their social media handles on August 4 about non-payment of their prize money, the department immediately acted and got in touch with the Government of Mizoram through their Tourism Department and the prize money has been paid directly by the department even though it was supposed to be done by the event management group of the Entertainment Subcommittee, he added.

The Prophets has thanked the Department for timely intervention and posted the same on their social media handles, he added.

The Commissioner also informed that the overall budget of the Shirui Lily Festival 2022 was Rs 3.5 crore but considering the importance of the festival, the Chief Minister had it increased to Rs 4.5 crore.

The amount of Rs 3.5 crore was already released by the Government in two instalments to different subcommittees on May 21 and July 18.Out of this Rs 4.5 crore budget, Rs 2 crore was earmarked for the Entertainment Sub-committee alone and a sum of Rs 1,55,55,555/- had already been released.

The remaining amount was to be paid after submission of the final bills/vouchers, he added.

Taking into account that the Shirui Lily Festival 2022 was a major success which attracted visitors from all over the country and from foreign countries as well, the incident of non-payment of prize has brought embarrassment to the Department and the State at large, the Commissioner clarified that the incident is a result of mismanagement by the event management company hired by the Entertainment Sub-committee.

The Department takes such negligence very seriously and has blacklisted the Gigbox Production Private Limited from participating in any future events organised by the department, he added.

The Commissioner also appealed the public to help in stopping the spread of negative remarks regarding the incident as the issue has been resolved.

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