Visakhapatnam: New Year’s Eve has turned into a business opportunity with many hotels, convention centres and organisations in Visakhapatnam making all efforts to monetise the event. Even billboards have been set up in the city publicising the events. Tickets are being sold on popular websites.
However, sources said many of these organisers have not taken permission from the Vizag police. Top among them is the organiser of Sunburn. It is selling its tickets over a popular website for Rs 4,000 per person and Rs 6,000
per couple.
The matter came to light when Sunburn started selling its event through a popular website without obtaining prior permission from Telangana police. The state’s Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has underlined that Sunburn had been banned in several cities. The CM has ordered TS police department not to permit Sunburn from holding its New Year Eve celebrations in Hyderabad.
Surprisingly, Visakhapatnam police have not taken any action against
Sunburn. City police commissionerate has received around 30 applications for New Year events. But it has not permitted any event yet.
Yet Sunburn is going ahead with its event at the Convention Centre in
Muralinagar.
When Deccan Chronicle contacted Vizag Zone One DCP K. Srinivasa Rao, he said, "We have not issued permission for New Year events yet. If corporate hotels hold New Year events, they take permission from the excise department. Since there is no crowd management problem there, we do permit them. But convention centres have to get a permit from us. If customers purchase tickets for an event without the police issuing permission, organisers will be answerable to their customers. If customers go to court for their ticket money, event managers will have to face consequences.”
