New Delhi: The Sunburn music festival that was scheduled for September 28-29 at a resort near the Ganga in Rishikesh’s Muni Ki Reti area, has been cancelled after protests from right-wing organisations. The groups argued that the event would “hurt religious sentiments and lead to inappropriate behaviour” in the spiritual town. BookMyShow, which was handling ticket sales, cancelled bookings on Friday and started issuing refunds for the nearly 1,000 tickets sold, which were priced at Rs 1,200 each.
Festival permission revoked
The local administration had granted permission for the festival on September 19 under specific conditions, such as a ban on music after 10 pm and strict measures against drug use. However, on September 22, after protests and concerns raised by the local police’s intelligence unit, the permission was revoked. Authorities cited mounting pressure from right-wing groups and residents, who feared the event would bring disturbances with a large influx of youth from Delhi, Haryana and other areas.
Concerns over religious sentiments
Chandrabhushan Sharma, president of Nagrik Parishad, which led the protests, said that the event would have “corrupted the environment” in the town, adding, “It would have been a blatant disrespect to our religious sentiments.” Devendra Singh Negi, sub-divisional magistrate of Narendranagar, who issued the cancellation order, said protests near the venue could disrupt local peace.
Another member of Nagrik Parishad, Divyanshu Negi, said that the organisers had been warned about the sensitive nature of the area but had not taken it seriously. Tehri Garhwal district magistrate Mayur Dixit added that future event approvals would be handled more cautiously to prevent conflicts.
Sunburn, regarded as Asia’s biggest music festival, was set to take place in Rishikesh for the first time. Though it has faced opposition before, outright cancellations have been rare, with past events usually relocating or adjusting to local concerns.
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