While the past BRS government embraced the music fest, the new Congress is averse to it.
Exactly a decade ago, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (then TRS) raised eyebrows soon after they won power in the newly bifurcated state of Telangana. K.T. Rama Rao, as IT Minister, announced at a private event that he wanted to bring the Sunburn music festival to Hyderabad as he aimed to turn Telangana’s capital into a leisure destination. A few months later, on November 15, 2014, he followed it up with a tweet: “As promised, @SunburnFestival will be in Hyderabad on Nov 22nd at Emaar Boulder Hills. All the music lovers & @djafrojack fans, have a blast!”
For the next 9 years, Percept, creators of Sunburn, made multiple trips to Hyderabad, bringing along famed international artists like Martin Garrix, Alan Walker, Dmitri, and DJ Snake.
The controversial brand, which started off as a dance music festival in Goa, is also associated with many suspected drug overdose-related deaths that took place at their venues over the years. As recently as in 2019, three youths from the Telugu states of AP and Telangana died at the three-day fest held in Goa. In the same year, a 24-year-old individual died under suspicious circumstances at a Sunburn event held in Hyderabad.
The Congress has been opposing the event, alleging that it promotes drug culture among youth. In 2017, senior Congress party leaders lodged a police complaint seeking a ban on the concert.
Now, the red carpet accorded to Sunburn over the years has been rolled back. Telangana Chief Minister and Congress President, A. Revanth Reddy, have raised objections to the mobile app BookMyShow selling Sunburn event tickets for New Year's night, as necessary permissions were still not given for the event. Revanth Reddy reminded that Sunburn had been banned in other cities and raised concerns that minors also have access to such events where alcohol is available. He ordered the police department to crack down strongly on events promoting drugs and also to curtail the availability of banned substances. The New Year's Eve night event, which had to be held in Madhapur, now faces uncertainty.
