Kolkata Beef Festival Organisers Change Fest Name Amid Threats, Replace Beef With 'Beep'

Kolkata, June 6: Under flak from conservative groups and a section of social media users for including the word "beef" in the title of their upcoming food fest, the organisers of Kolkata Beef Festival have decided to change the name of their event. In a self-censorship measure, they have replaced beef with "beep".

The move has helped in curtailing negative responses, said a spokesperson of the event management committee. He further reiterated that the event is not linked to any religion or political outfit, and should be purely considered from the perspective of cuisine. Delhi BJP Website Hacked, Beef Image Appears On Homepage

The fest, now officially renamed as "Kolkata Beep Festival", will take place on June 23 at a cafe in central Kolkata's Sudder Street. Foodies from across the nation are expected to attend, with the fest being heavily promoted on social media.

"Many right-wing pages and social media accounts have been sharing my name and number, after which we decided to change the name. Taking a college student's suggestion we chose 'Beep' as the new word, and we are getting a good response," one of the organisers, Arjun Kar, was reported as saying. "Supporters are actually furious over the fascist nature of the whole situation," he added.

It is a food festival with focus on a wide arrangement of beef preparations ranging from tenderloin, back ribs and Bolognese pasta to burgers and steaks, he said. The menu consists of some pork dishes as well.

"We have noticed that after the name change, the negative responses have decreased a lot. We are now looking forward to an eventful day of celebrating great cuisine," he said.

(With IANS inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 06, 2019 05:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).