Hyderabad: Ravindra Bharati falls silent as govt orders shutdown

Hyderabad: State capital's cultural hub Ravindra Bharathi, which always used to be abuzz with myriad activities, has now gone silent thanks to the directions of the government to close down the auditorium in the wake of fast spreading coronavirus.

The centre that generally hosts over 100 programmes in a month will remain closed until further orders. There are three halls including a main theatre, a mini theatre and a conference hall.

On an average, the cultural centre has three programmes in a day. The bookings are generally done one month prior to the programme, but with the new directive from the government in force, all programmes are cancelled until further orders from the government.

According to officials, Ravindra Bharathi has seen an increase in programmes after the formation of Telangana. Apart from the cultural programmes, many other events including book releases, plays and others are being taken up. The auditorium has a seating capacity for 1,004 (768 seats in the main auditorium and 336 seats in the balcony) with cushioned seats.

Director, Department of Language and Culture, M Harikrishna said no booking was taken up for April month also. He said apart from the government orders, the organisers were also approaching the centre for cancellation of the programmes.

"Some of the organisers have enquired about cancelling the programmes in wake of very less visitors during the last few days," said Harikrishna.

The official said the centre would refund the organisers for cancellation of the programme. The fee for the centre was not a concern but the health was important, the official said.

Meanwhile, main tourism spots in Hyderabad also had a deserted look in the city as people preferred to stay away from public places. The two tourism bars in the city managed by the Telangana State Tourism Corporation (TSTDC) were closed as per the orders given by the government.

The TSTDC MD B Manohar said there would not be a big impact in terms of money because there were only two bars of TSTDC in the city.