Is NGO threat or police licence to blame for cancelled Borivli carnival

Mumbai: "Lent has begun early this year for the people of Borivli," cried out a circular issued by organizers of the much-awaited carnival at I C Colony?an annual community celebration that has been observed for close to three decades?after it was cancelled for the first time this year. The February 5-7 event was called off after local police asked them to seek permissions that they had been excused from for 29 years.

While the police say the decision was prompted by the Bombay high court summons to ACPs in December to explain the abysmally low official noise pollution figures, it was perhaps the fear of a backlash from politician Nitesh Rane-backed NGO Swabhimaan Sanghatana that prompted a leash on the celebration.

The sanghatana is against the carnival organizers' plan to bring in a Romanian DJ.

When TOI contacted Rane, the Congress youth leader said his group was against foreign artistes. "They eat up local artistes' share of work and earnings, so it's been our ideology to oppose them. In a democracy, we have a right to show our discontent and that could also mean taking an aggressive stand. We had issued a similar letter to Film City in the past asking them to not hire foreign artistes." Randell Pereira, chief coordinator of I C Colony Forum, the carnival organizers, said, "Yesterday, ACP Sudhakar Pujari of Borivli produced a letter from Swabhimaan Sanghatana which threatened to bring out a morcha and disrupt the event because we planned to have a Romanian DJ. They will not allow any foreign artistes."

While denying that the Swabhimaan Sanghatana letter was one of the reasons for refusing permission for the carnival, ACP Pujari said, "If a mistake has been occurring for the past 29 years, why must it continue? The organizers did not have licences from either the BMC, fire brigade, PWD or traffic department. They haven't even made adequate security arrangements for 5,000 participants. They were asked to write to the police commissioner's office on January 27 but they haven't done the needful. We have to guard against noise pollution too. It's a high court order."

Pereira said all they have ever needed was permission from local police as the carnival grew over the years. "Suddenly, this year, we've been asked to procure half a dozen licences and, that too, at the last minute. With three days to go, we don't have a choice but to cancel what has been a 29-year-long tradition. The event was called off due to mammoth and multiple obstacles," he said.RELATED

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