Just a week after music maestro A R Rahman held a gala show at Yubabharati Krirangan in Salt Lake, the West Bengal government today banned all cultural shows at the stadium, something that has been demanded for long by sports personalities of the city.

This was announced by Minister of State for Sports Kanti Ganguly, who said the state government had taken the decision according to recommendations of an expert committee.

“Recently astro-turf has been laid on the stadium and the experts committee said that any event other than sports will be harmful for the ground. So we have taken this decision,” Ganguly said.

“Unless there is a situation like a natural calamity following which lakhs of people have to be given shelter and the stadium is needed, we will not use the stadium for any other purpose,” Ganguly added. Asked why permission was granted for the A R Rahman show, the minister said: “That permission was given by my predecessor — late Subhas Chakrabarty. I have got nothing to do with it.”

In the past several cultural functions had been organised in the stadium, which were opposed by sports personalities.

Sportspersons in the city, meanwhile, welcomed the decision. “We have long been demanding this because anything other than sports harms the ground and ultimately sports is at the receiving end,” P K Banerjee, former India football player and coach, told The Indian Express.