After teasing around for a couple of months and being
discreet about whether or not Sunburn will be happening in Goa this year, the
organisers, Percept finally broke silence on social media by announcing their
new venue in Kesnand, Pune. The organisers spent a healthy amount of time
blaming the Goa government of not giving a clear indication on their decision
to allow or disallow Sunburn to happen in Goa, and were perhaps hoping to ride
on the sympathy factor. But if one has to go by the furore that it created
amidst the fans of the mega-EDM festival, Percept perhaps either took the fans
for granted or went horribly wrong in gauging their sentiments, but Sunburn
definitely didn’t see it coming!
Much earlier this year, Sunburn had announced their plans of
having the tenth edition of the mega-EDM festival in Goa and had opened the
bookings for its early bird tickets, most of which were sold out like hot cakes.
But after the state government and Percept took their own sweet time indulging
in the blame game, which in turn ensured absolute confusion in the minds of the
fans about the event, just a few days ago, Sunburn made a U-turn (and how!) by
shifting the venue to Kesnand in Pune. As a result, all those who had not only
spent their hard earned money on the tickets but also on accommodation and
flight tickets – all of which are really expensive, were left nowehere to go.
As a natural reaction to address these issues, most of the fans took to
Sunburn’s Facebook page to claim a refund but apart from a cute statement that
said that promised a ‘special surprise for Early Bird Phase I ticket holders’,
Sunburn has not released any official statement on whether or not those
affected are going to be reimbursed. As such, a few Early Bird Phase I ticket
holders threatened Sunburn to drag to the Consumer Court, is a satisfactory
reimbursement is not made.
After learning about Sunburn’s decision to move out of Goa,
Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar had said, “The Goa government has not closed
its doors on the event. They had given us an application. We still haven’t
rejected it. Their application is pending before the (single window) committee.
However, they have to pay the Police Department back dues and we will process
the file for permission. The government was always open to hold such EDM
festivals. I have always welcomed such festivals, but the organisers have to
first clear the dues, only after which a green signal will be given to the
festival. It was up to the organisers, whether they want to hold the festival
in Goa or in some other State.”
All attempts to contact representatives of Percept, failed.
Some of the opinions expressed on Sunburn’s official
Facebook page are as follows:
Prashant Gupta:
Only people who will go this time will be the ones who are planning for Sunburn
for the very first time because they cant even imagine & compare this shi**y
venue with the heaven called GOA….but don’t worry Sunburn most of the Indian
people don’t care about the Venue and don’t care about the Line Up coz wo kahin bi daaru peekar naach sakte hain
Brian Barretto:
Lets drag sunburn to consumer courts.. Each and everyone of us supported
sunburn all these 9 years..what they are today is only because of us.. And
before changing the venue they never considered it as an important point to
take our opinion.. #NOGOA #NOSUNBURN
Vivek Sharma:
Freezing cold, no hotels nearby, no foods nearby, no security, no hospitals for
emergency, no transport options. Wow what a amazing venue !!!! And this is
replacement of GOA. Bull Shit.
Gopala Krishna: A
Very bad decision by Organizers. I think they get the land for free. So that
they can demolition the beauty of nature. #nogoa #nosunburn What ever. Lesson
learnt is never buy Sunburn Early Bird tickets
Mihika Chauhan: I
was so excited for this as it was gonna be my first time for both Goa and
Sunburn, and it’s 10 years completion for Sunburn too. I expected it to be
dope. I don’t know what to do with my tickets now…why Sunburn, why..
Aatmikk Muchhal:
I need a full refund of my paid amount, the initial booking page mentioned Goa
in it. I shall drag you to consumer courts for this stupidity. I even made my
travel bookings for Goa! And please stop fooling people with the special
surprise you have kept for Early Bird Tickets, it sounds more sluggish and
fake.
Aldrino Xavier
Toscano: These Sunburn guys seem to be lying. Goa government has announced
that will give permission to Sunburn provided previous dues to government
departments are cleared. Obviously Percept doesn’t want to pay the money that
is why they want to move out
Pranav Mistry:
How can #percept sell #sunburn early bird tickets without confirmation and
permissions. Stop blaming the #government it’s the organisers fault and we need
the money back with interest.
