The pollution control board asked the varsity authorities to give their explanation “soon”, but did issue a deadline. The varsity had promised to implement the NGT guidelines while organising the annual fair. “Visva-Bharati authorities did not comply with several key recommendations of the PCB which were found when the committee appointed by the board visited the annual fair,” environmentalist Subhas Datta, one of the committee members, said. Visva-Bharati officials could not be contacted. The fair was started in 1894 by Rabindranath Tagore's father, Maharshi Debendranath, and Visva-Bharati University has been organising it since 1951.

Source: The Telegraph January 01, 2020 09:56 UTC