HC raises concern over Sunburn Festival in Wayanad

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has expressed concern about the upcoming Sunburn Festival, a DJ event set to take place on New Year’s Eve on a large tea plantation in Wayanad.

The court has demanded full details about the event, including permissions, the expected number of participants, licencing information, and the organising group. This follows a complaint filed by two senior citizens from Wayanad, which was earlier submitted to the District Disaster Management Authority and the District Collector.

The court raised concerns over the electronic dance music festival. The bench also questioned the authorities' preparedness to handle the crowd, Bar & Bench reported. The complainants mentioned that over 20,000 people are expected to attend the event.

‘Sunburn Festival’ 
Named after Goa’s famous Sunburn festival, the Wayanad event is anticipated to attract thousands of visitors to the hill district on the night of December 31. Boby Chemmannur, the chief promoter of the event and the tea plantation, shared an Instagram post to promote the festival, announcing that international DJ artist Mari Ferrari would perform at the event.

Approximately 25 acres of farmland will be transformed into a festival ground for the mega music and dance show. Tickets for the festival range from Rs 499 to Rs 5,000. In the promotional video, Chemmannur says that Rs 499 tickets have been sold out.

Last year’s New Year celebrations at the same property saw the police resorting to a lathi charge due to riot-like conditions at the event. There were reports of injuries, some serious, among the attendees.