Director (Tourism), Manipur W. Ibohal Singh issued an order on 5 August 2022 soon after the TFM report under the headline: ShiRock – DueRock – SueRock: Organisers Fail To Pay Cash Prize Of ₹10 Lakh To Winner Of ShiRock 2022, went viral on social media platforms.
TFM Report
Following TFM’s report under the headline: ShiRock – DueRock – SueRock: Organisers Fail To Pay Cash Prize Of ₹10 Lakh To Winner Of ShiRock 2022, the Directorate of Tourism, Government of Manipur has blacklisted Gig Box Production Pvt. Ltd., Thangapat Mapal, Wangkhel, Imphal East, from any tourism-related events and festivals in future.
Director (Tourism), Manipur W. Ibohal Singh issued an order on 5 August 2022 soon after the TFM report went viral on social media platforms.
In its order, the Directorate of Tourism stated that the Shirock 2022 competition was organised by the Entertainment Sub-Committee and the Chairman, Entertainment Sub-Committee of Shirui Lily Festival 2022 entrusted Gig Box Production Pvt. Ltd., Thangapat Mapal, Wangkhel, Imphal East, Manipurto organise Shirock 2022.
The event was organised by Gig Box Production Pvt. Ltd., Thangapat Mapal, Wangkhei, Imphal East, Manipur and the ‘Prophets’, a band from Mizoram, was declared the winner of the competition, the order said. An amount of Rs. 10 lakh was to be awarded to ‘Prophets’ for winning the competition, it added.
The directorate also stated that a claim made against this Department for non-payment of prize money for the 2022 edition of SHIROCK organised as part of the Shirui Lily Festival 2022 has been doing the rounds on social media platforms.
Putting the records straight, the directorate said the total budget for organising the 4th Edition of the Shirui Lily Festival was Rs. 4.5 crore out of which Rs. 3.5 crore was released by the Government in two installments (40% and 60% respectively) and the corresponding amounts was released to different Sub-Committees, departments, firms etc. on 21st May 2022 and 18th July 2022 respectively by the department.
The total amount allocated for the Entertainment Sub-Committee was Rs. 1,55,55,555/- (rupees one crore fifty-five lakh fifty-five thousand five hundred and fifty-five) and the same has been released to the Deputy Commissioner, Ukhrul on the above-mentioned dates, claimed the order.
The directorate maintained that the payment is to be made by the event manager of Shirock 2022 out of the funds released to them on installment basis and the event manager has failed to prioritize payments and distribute the money uniformly amongst vendors/firms/bands engaged in Shirock 2022, thereby, resulting in claims for unpaid dues by prize winners of Shirock 2022.
The negligence and the failure to prioritize payments to prize winners of the competition has tarnished the image of the Department as well as the Government of Manipur to a great extent, it claimed.
Gig Box Production Pvt. Ltd., Thangapat Mapal, Wangkhei, Imphal East was blacklisted considering the irreparable loss to the image and prestige suffered by the department and the State of Manipur, after due approval of the Government, said the order.