moonbust :hopeless:
JAIPUR: The organisers had meant it to be a mini Woodstock. But the five-day music carnival attended by 3,000 foreign tourists on the outskirts of Jaipur struck a discordant note with the locals and Pink City officials seeing red.
The carnival of trance music at a farmhouse in Ramgarh, 45 km from Jaipur, had to be hastily called off after allegations of sex and use of drugs and alcohol. The party began on Friday and was to last until Tuesday.
The party came to an abrupt end around 5 am on Monday after one of the organisers was told by his family members that the police might crack down as local media ran a story on the show. An announcement was made on the public address system that the show was being discontinued, caused a stampede-like situation at the venue, with participants rushing to leave the place. Rajasthan party-pooper officials arrived on the venue around 7.30 am.
The government ordered a probe into the party β€” called Moondust Festival β€” after what appeared to be a clash of cultures, surprising in a state which makes heavy moolah from foreign tourists. Local villagers protested against the free use of smack and booze at the musical jamboree.
The villagers, led by sarpanch Mahendrapal Meena, said the show was causing harm to the nearby Ramgarh sanctuary. The area surrounding the farmhouse has been declared sanctuary because of the presence of crocodiles and chinkaras. The organisers reportedly also arranged laser lights so that the participants can watch deer and other animals grazing in the nearby hills β€” a case of clear violation of the forest rules relating to sanctuary.
The trance party was organised at Paliwal Farms, owned by marble mine owner Kulbhushan Paliwal. The organisers had taken temporary beer licence for the fest.
The villagers, however, claimed that hard liquor was served in the party. The villagers also said foreign tourists were seen engaging in indecent behaviour during the festival. TV footage showed the party scene littered with booze bottles, cigarette cartons and used condoms. One villager also held up a pouch of something that looked like marijuana, he had found in the farmhouse.
link:
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Rajasthan+music+fest+runs+into+trouble&id=95940&category=National
