RSC member says venue was given free for Karuna

KOCHI:  A day after the organisers said Karuna was not organised as a fundraiser for Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), a lifetime member of Regional Sports Centre (RSC), where the event was held, said the venue was given free by the RSC council. The decision was taken after considering that the music festival organised by the Kochi Music Foundation (KMF) was for collecting money for donation to Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF). V Gopakumar, a life member of RSC also alleged that the Foundation cheated the government, the audience, sponsors and RSC through their actions.

Gopakumar said that initially there was reluctance from the Council’s side to provide the venue for free.
 “Since it was a programme to collect funds for CMDRF, the executive committee decided to provide the venue free of cost. We took the initiative in a very positive way,” he said. 

Though KMF claimed that `6,22,000 was paid to CMDRF, Gopakumar alleged that the ticket revenue was even more and the Foundation has siphoned the remaining amount.RSC secretary S A S Navaz issued a letter to the Foundation asking about the proof of the remittance to CMDRF. However, there was no response from their side. 

“This is a big scam in the name of the flood. They utilised people’s sympathy and sentiments for making money, which is cheap. The government should conduct a proper investigation into this and expose those involved in the scam,” said Gopakumar.