Many reputed sand artists have alleged that they are left out of the international sand art festival scheduled to be held from December 1 to 5 at the Chandrabhaga beach near Konark.
In this annual festival, which coincides with the famous Konark Dance Festival, a total of 30 artists would participate including five from other countries, two from outside Odisha and 23 from Odisha.
The aggrieved artists said the State Tourism Department shifted its responsibility and entrusted one internationally-reputed sand artist to select competitors for the festival. Interestingly, he enlisted only his students and did not allow others to participate.
They alleged there was no transparency in the selection of artists. The artists from the western and southern parts of Odisha are not in the list while all the 23 selected ones are closely associated with the selector, they alleged.
In a letter to the Director and the Secretary of the Tourism Department, noted sand artists Nikunja Kishore Naik, Dasarathi Mahapatra, Hrushikesh Nyak and Brajabandhu Naik have demanded a probe and permission to them to display their works in the festival.