Even as tickets go on sale for the 11th edition of the fest in Pimpri Chinchwad, locals offer opposition
After getting (Sun)burned once, Punekers are not keen for the top music festival to return to their city at the end of this year. Previously held in Goa, the famous Sunburn festival moved to Wagholi last year, but its Pune innings kicked off on a sour note after environmental violations were reported. Even as teaser posters for the 2017 edition circulate, announcing the event in Pimpri-Chinchwad from December 28-31, the Pune police say they are not aware of the event.
A view of the crowds at Sunburn 2016 held in Wagholi. Pic/ Sunburn
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Last year, locals had opposed the EDM music festival. The organisers invited further controversy after they levelled a hillock to create the venue for the event. They were slapped with a R1 crore fine, and suffered further loss of R2.5 crore when a fire broke out while the stage was being dismantled. Cops said the fire had started during some welding work going on at the venue and plywood and various other materials on the stage were gutted.
The festival, a high-profile fixture at Goa's Candolim and Vagator since 2007, moved to Pune last year after the Goa government refused to give the organisers the go-ahead until dues of R2 crore to the police department were cleared.
Despite permissions not being in place, tickets are already on sale (on viagogo.com) and have been announced on bookmyshow.com and on festicket.com for this year's event, which will feature gigs by artistes like Martin Garrix (Dutch) and DJ Snake (French).
DJ Martin Garrix and DJ Snake
However, DCP (Zone III) Ganesh Shinde said, "No permission has been procured for the event, neither are we aware about it."
Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Ravindra Kamble added, "Until now, we have not received any request for permission or a letter informing us about the event."
Harindra Singh, Chairman and MD of Percept Limited, the media communications firm behind the fest, confirmed the change of venue but refused to give further details.
(Soumya's input here)
Pune resident and activist Maruthi Bhapkar said he had written a letter to Cultural Affairs Minister Vinod Tawde to protest against the event. "It will ruin the culture of the city. Goa already has a bad name [thanks to it]," he said.
The stage for last year's Sunburn fest in Pune was built after levelling a portion of the Kesnand hills. Pic/ file photo
Harindra Singh, chairman and managing director of Percept Limited, that organises the Sunburn festival, said, "We had the Sunburn festival at Keshnad, near Pune, last year. Despite allegations, the event went well and successfully placed Keshnad/Pune on the global music map.
The event helped create an entire ecosystem where in all stakeholders benefited. The festival complied with all legal, statutory, safety and security guidelines. The company officials are currently in constant contact with various government authorities and the state tourism department to finalise this year's festival. And, we hope to close that very soon. We will apply for all required permissions once the plans are finalised. Having said that, it's clarified that all ticket bookings are subject to government permissions and the event will only take place if all the required permissions are obtained."
'It's mentioned on the ticket that if the event doesn't happen, they will refund the entire amount. Yes, I will be quite disappointed if that happens'
Gautam KM, a student from Hubli, who has already bought a ticket
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