Organisers of the Sunburn music festival which was held in Hyderabad on December 29, were booked by the city police on Sunday, after they reportedly failed to make proper arrangements and disobeyed the orders of the authorities. The electronic music festival was held in Boulder Hills, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Gachibowli police, and saw thousands turn up for the event.
“The organisers ensured concluding the event before 10 pm. The footage of the event showed that the event was stopped five minutes before deadline. But, they failed to provide proper parking and the crowd was not managed well," Gachibowli inspector R. Srinivas was quoted as saying.
The police said that there was slight chaos due to improper management which could have lead to averse situations like a stampede, with the organisers not taking any precautionary measures either, in case of an emergency. Meanwhile, the police said that they had begun investigation, adding that a case had been registered under Section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
This is not the first time that the festival has landed itself in a controversy. Last year, ahead of the festival being held, former Congress MP V. Hanumantha Rao submitted a representation to the Cyberabad Police Commissioner, requesting that it be stopped. Stating that it was 'against Indian culture', Hanumantha Rao said that youngsters were getting 'spoilt' due to the dance, music and alcohol.
Meanwhile, TPCC spokesperson Addanki Dayakar had said that the Telangana government was promoting 'drug culture' in the city, and accused Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of ignoring it.
Hanumantha Rao also visited the Gachibowli stadium where the event was scheduled to be held and got into an argument with the police. He demanded that the permission given to the event, must be cancelled.