Sunburn doesn't encourage or promote drugs, nudity: CEO

Electronic Dance Music festival Sunburn neither promotes the use of drugs, nor supports obscene activities, says its CEO Karan Singh in reaction to calls for a ban on the gala.

The venue of the tenth edition of the EDM festival Sunburn has been shifted from Goa to Pune. Media reports said Hindutva outfits have demanded that the government should ban the Sunburn festival, with activists claiming that it promotes consumption of narcotic substances and obscene activities.

However, Singh said their motto is to promote healthy recreation, and that they have a strict zero tolerance policy towards narcotics.

In a statement, Singh said: "With regards to the various claims of ban made by local outfits in Pune, we suspect foul play and ulterior motives. This our tenth year and we have never violated any law. Sunburn promotes healthy recreation."

"Sunburn has a strict zero tolerance policy towards narcotics. In fact, there is a separate smoking zone and only adults with a permit will be allowed to buy and consume alcohol. Security and safety of every attendee is of vital importance to us.

"The venue is under strict 24x7 surveillance with 200 plus CCTV cameras and a dedicated security machinery overseen by the police," he added.

Slamming allegations that the festival promotes the use of drugs and indecent clothing among youngsters, Singh said: "Sunburn doesn't encourage or promote nudity or indecent dressing. It's not Sunburn's mandate to advocate dressing styles. We encourage smart casual dressing.

"We have applied for all the requisite statutory permissions to host the event in Pune and are grateful to the Maharashtra Stase government for giving us an opportunity to put Maharashtra on the world tourism map. The event is supported by the department of tourism, government of Maharashtra."

As far as pollution is concerned, Singh said: "We will obtain all required permissions from all relevant bodies and work strictly in adherence to their guidelines. Historically, we have always worked in close coordination with state pollution boards and believe in conservation of the environment.

"We have a campaign, 'leave no trace', which means we leave all our venues as they were when we took them, if not better. The question of environmental damage doesn't exist in our case."

The four-day festival, which will start in Pune on December 28, will have stages with some interesting labels like District 808, Monstercat, Ray Ban, Shaan & Friends, Soma Project and Vinyl Ambulance.

The artistes performing at the festival include names like Axwell Ingrosso, Armin van Buuren, Dimitri Vegas Like Mike, Afrojack and Krewella, Bass Jackers, Marnik, Tom Swoon, Nucleya, Arjun Vagale, Shaan, Zaeden and Anish Sood.

--IANS

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