Pune: The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) on Tuesday opposed the organisation of Sunburn Festival for the second consecutive year in Pune. The music festival is slated to be held in Moshi Pradhikaran near Dehu-Alandi from December 28 to December 31.
Parag Gokhale of HJS said, “It’s a shame that an event like Sunburn Festival, which is known to be a hub for drug abuse, is being held in Pune again. The Goa government had driven the festival out of their state as they failed to pay all taxes. Then why is Maharashtra government entertaining them here? They are doing nothing but bringing bad Western influence to our country.”
Gokhale further added that there have been many cases of drug abuse during Sunburn. He said, “Drugs have been repeatedly found, year after year, at Sunburn parties in Goa. Rape drug Ketamine was also found at these parties. There have also been cases of deaths due to drugs consumed at the festival.”
“Last year, when Sunburn was held in Pune for the first time in Kesnand (Wagholi), the organisers caused a great deal of nuisance to local villagers. The organisers illegally felled trees and excavated hills. Their bouncers also misbehaved with the villagers. Similarly, the villagers of Moi, Kuruli, Chimbli and Kelgai, near Moshi Pradhikaran, have also opposed the festival this year,” Gokhale said.
Bhapkar writes to RSS Chief seeking event’s cancellation
Former PCMC corporator Maruti Bhapkar wrote to RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, asking him to urge the State government to cancel Sunburn Festival. This has surprised political analysts as Bhapkar had contested the recent elections on a Shiv Sena ticket. He had earlier approached the State government and PCNTDA for cancellation of the concert.
In the letter to Bhagwat, Bhapkar reminded him of his Vijaya Dashmi speech, where Bhagwat said that people should work for undoing the influence of foreign culture on youngsters. He asked Bhagwat to urge Education Minister Vinod Tawde and Cultural Minister Jaykumar Raval to revoke permission for the festival.
