No permission for Sunburn fest in Hyderabad, clarify police

Hyderabad, Dec 25 (IANS) Cyberabad Police on Monday clarified that there is no permission for the Sunburn music festival on New Year’s eve even as the online sale of tickets for the event continued.

A day after Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directed Cyberabad Police Commissioner Avinash Mohanty to inquire into the alleged sale of tickets by the BookMyShow portal for the Sunburn music festival, the Commissioner clarified that permission has not been granted for the event.

He said the organisers applied for the permission but the police have not given the permission as it is not like the Sunburnt events held in other cities.

Arrangements were on for the event near HITEC City, the information technology hub in Madhapur under the limits of Cyberabad Police Commissionerate.

Though the Police Commissioner said that the permission was not given for the event, the sale of tickets was continuing on BookMyShow for the event planned on the night of December 31.

The Chief Minister during a conference with district collectors and SPs on Sunday directed the Police Commissioner to inquire into the sale of tickets for the event. He wanted to know if the permission was given and when informed that no permission was given, he asked the police chief to inquire into the sale of tickets.

He mentioned that states like Goa, Maharashtra, and Karnataka cancelled Sunburn.

Revanth Reddy took note of this while giving directions to collectors and SPs to curb the drug menace with an iron hand. The officials were asked to keep a tight vigil on the events on New Year eve to ensure that drugs are not consumed at such parties.

He directed officials not to treat the events on New Year's eve as revenue earners. He said that such events are spreading destructive culture and spoiling the careers of youth.

The Chief Minister also asked the officials to ensure that children below 18 years are not allowed at such events. Similarly, those who did not attain the age of 21 years shall not be served liquor anywhere, he said.

Reiterating his resolve to make Telangana drugs-free, the Chief Minister asked officials to come down heavily on all those places promoting use of drugs.

"We saw how Punjab collapsed due to the drug menace and Telangana state is moving fast in that direction," he said and told police officials that they have a responsibility to curb the menace.