'Itni Shakti Hame Dena Daata' singer urges PM Modi, Maharashtra government for financial help

With theatres and performance spaces shutting down due to Covid-19, artists have fallen into particularly hard times.

Singer Pushpa Pagdhare, who sang the famous song 'Itni Shakti Hame Dena Daata', told news agency ANI that the government should raise the amount of monthly honorarium given to artists as the pension she receives is insufficient. "Government gives me a pension but it's insufficient. Government should look after the artists who have earned respect for the country," the singer said.

Media reports of Pushpa Pagdhare facing penury have been doing the rounds.

Media reports of Pagdhare facing penury have been doing the rounds. The singer told reporters that her monthly pension of ₹3,150 is not only insufficient but also never reaches on time, and her financial troubles have been exacerbated by the lack of royalty payments for her cult hit song. Pagdhare urged chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and PM Modi to help out artists by raising the monthly pension.

With theatres and performance spaces shutting down due to Covid-19, artists have fallen into particularly hard times. On August 5, the Maharashtra government announced a ₹34 crore relief package for folk music artists, producers of folk art, touring talkies and organisations associated with them to help them overcome the impact of the pandemic coupled with the lockdown. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray okayed this package after meeting with the state’s culture minister Amit Deshmukh. The chief minister's Office (CMO) said 56,000 folk artists will receive a grant of ₹5,000 each as financial assistance. This relief package is expected to cost the state exchequer Rs.28 crore. Maharashtra is slowly starting to ease Covid-induced restrictions but the state health minister Rajesh Tope said on Wednesday that theatres and multiplexes will remain shut until further orders.