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Shilpakala theatre halls limping for lack of manpower

CITY CORRESPONDENT
***The establishment ministry last year approved the proposal to bring the 27 employees under revenue budget but the file has been still lying with the finance ministry. The staff of the two halls have given an ultimatum to the authorities that if they do not receive their arrears, they will finally leave by July 30.***
Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy's two experimental theatre halls in the city may be shut down soon due to lack of manpower.
High officials of the academy said the halls are now temporarily closed for servicing the airconditioners but other staff said it is due to lack of manpower.
"There is no payment for the staff for the last one year. So most of the staff are leaving," an official said on condition on anonymity.
"The phone lines are disconnected and even the internal PABX system is out of order. Sadly, there is no staff to fix these problems," he said.
Some 27 employees and nine ushers who are working on a daily basis under the National Theatre Stage project have not been paid since July last year.
Many technical staff have stopped coming to the theatre halls. They are leading an inhu-
man life since they are not paid their wages.
"My family is in deep trouble. I have to shift to a slum as I could not pay my house rent. Now I cannot even manage to feed my family," said a technician.
An usher said, "I have to borrow from friends and relatives. My relatives are offering small amount of money as if I am a beggar."
The establishment ministry last year approved the proposal to bring the 27 employees under reve-
nue budget but the file has been still lying with the finance ministry.
Top officials of Shilpakala Academy and Joint Secretary of Cultural Affairs Ministry Abdur Razzak said now everything depends on the finance ministry.
Meanwhile, the staff of the two halls have given an ultimatum to the authorities that if they do not receive their arrears, they will finally leave by July 30.
Officials said this will cause a huge loss to the Tk 38 crore project as there will be no skilled hand to run the machines and no security officials to guard them.
The rent for the small hall with 350 seats is Tk 3,000 per half shift while that of the big hall having 700 seats is Tk 7,500.
The money that comes from rent goes to the academy fund which otherwise could be shared among the employees who are not getting salaries, said an employee.