Complaint lodged with District Collector against ‘Sunburn’ festival in Mumbai !

‘Drugs should not be glorified in Maharashtra !’ – Anti-Drug Campaign

Activists submitting a memorandum to Mumbai District Collector Aachal Sood Goyal under the ‘Anti-Drug Campaign’

Mumbai – The ‘Sunburn’ festival, notorious in Goa for drug consumption and sale, is scheduled to be held in Mumbai this December. Despite serious incidents like the death of a young woman and the arrest of a drug supplier in Goa’s Sunburn event, permission has been granted to organise the same festival in Mumbai. The ‘Anti-Drug Campaign’ has therefore demanded that permission for this drug-ridden event be withdrawn. A written representation was submitted to Mumbai District Collector Aachal Sood Goel on 3rd November.

🚫 Anti-Narcotics Campaign activists gave a memorandum to the Mumbai Collector opposing the Sunburn Festival in December.

💊 The festival is infamous in Goa for drug peddling and deaths, yet it now seeks entry into Mumbai.

⚠️ Activists reminded of incidents like the 2009 death… pic.twitter.com/LuiLVBIbYO

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) November 6, 2025

Present on the occasion were Professor Shripad Samant of Mithibai College, Professor Dr Lakshman Jathar of National College, Bandra, along with Prabhakar Bhosale, Vinayak Shinde, Subhash Ahir, Vilas Nikam, Sagar Chopdar, Satish Sonar, and Mrs Dhanashree Kelshikar. The activists also met Mumbai’s Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Satyanarayan Chaudhary, Additional Commissioner of Police Abhimanyu Deshmukh, and ‘Mumbai Port Trust’ Estate Manager Shirsat. A representation was also submitted to the Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai.

… Why ‘Sunburn’ must not be held !

1. In 2009, a 23-year-old woman, Neha Bahuguna, died during the ‘Sunburn’ festival held at Candolim Beach, Goa.

2. In 2013, during the ‘Sunburn’ festival at Vagator Beach, Goa, the Anti-Narcotics Cell raided the venue and arrested a drug dealer named Saurabh Agarwal with illegal substances. Hundreds of people were found publicly smoking hookah and chillum.

3. In 2014, a young fashion designer named Isha Mantri died during the Sunburn festival in Mumbai. It was confirmed that her death was due to drug overdose.

4. Many foreign nationals participate as drug vendors in the Sunburn festival. They enter India with tourist visas and engage in illegal business without facing any punitive action.

Demand for a permanent ban !

The Sunburn festival tarnishes Maharashtra’s cultural heritage and identity. Therefore, a permanent ban should be imposed on such festivals that promote addiction. The police and anti-narcotics units must keep constant vigilance over such organisers. The Anti-Drug Campaign has demanded that this festival, which pushes the youth into addiction and glorifies Western depravity, should never be allowed on the soil of Maharashtra.

Editorial Perspectives

Why must people be compelled to submit representations against ‘Sunburn’, a festival that misleads the youth through blind imitation of the West ? Does the administration fail to recognise what is truly in the youth’s interest ?