Ustad Bismillah Khan gets financial help from Sibal

Shehnai maestro Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan was today handed over cheques for Rs 1.20 lakh on behalf of Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal.

Shehnai maestro Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan was on Friday handed over cheques for Rs 1.20 lakh on behalf of Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal at his residence in Harha Sarai in Varanasi.

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In dire need of financial support, the ailing maestro was promised help by the minister who had pledged to give him Rs 10,000 every month recently.

A total of 12 cheques worth Rs 10,000 each were presented to the veteran classical vocalist on Sibal's behalf by journalist couple -- Neena and Shivnath Jha.

The couple had presented the maestro with a monograph on him at a felicitation function in Varanasi last month alongwith Rs 50,000 and a silver shehnai weighing three kgs on the occasion of his 91st birthday.