Chaos at A R Rahman's Sept 10 concert: Police book cases against event organiser
Chennai (PTI):. Police on Friday registered cases against an official of ACTC Events, the organiser of A R Rahman's September 10 concert here, and two others, for overselling tickets, committing breach of trust and causing inconvenience to the people.
Oscar-winning music composer Rahman's concert titled 'Marakkuma Nenjam' (Does the Heart Ever Forget) was held at a private venue on East Coast Road (ECR).
"Due to chaos at the venue, many complained about the concert tickets being oversold. Following this, the Tambaram City Police took up the investigation and registered cases under IPC section 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated) against Hemanth Raja, CEO of ACTC Events, and two others," a senior police official said.
An investigation revealed that the organisers had sold tickets beyond the seating capacity of the arena. A case of cheating was also booked against them, he said.
Tambaram City Police Commissioner A Amalraj had said nearly 15,000 people beyond the expected number had converged at the venue. The crowd was "more than expected"; 25,000 chairs were arranged "but 35,000 to 40,000 people turned up," he said.
Many people took to social media to talk about their plight as they could not reach the venue on time due to severe traffic congestion on ECR, while others were critical of the way things were handled that evening and highlighted how despite spending huge sums for the tickets, they were denied access.
Rahman later said he had nothing to do with the "inconveniences" caused to people during his concert, and
Hemanth shared a video on Instagram saying the composer should not be targeted on social media as "ACTC takes responsibility" for the problems faced by people on September 10.
He gave the assurance that the cost of the ticket would be refunded to those who had missed out on the concert, and apologised for the inconvenience caused to people.
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Siddaramaiah tells Centre not to punish Karnataka for being progressive
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday underlined the need for justice in the devolution of taxes.
He said no one should milk a milch cow completely, or else the calf would be malnourished.
Addressing people on the occasion of the 69th state formation day at Sree Kanteerava Stadium here, Siddaramaiah said there is injustice happening to Karnataka.
The state is contributing more than Rs four lakh crore as revenue to the Centre and it is the second largest contributor to the Central tax revenue after Maharashtra, he pointed out.
"Even though we give more than Rs four lakh crore, we are only getting Rs 55,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore. Kannadigas should know this. We are getting 14 to 15 per cent only of our contribution," the chief minister said.
Under the federal system, there should not be any injustice just because Karnataka is a progressive state, he observed.
"Just because a milch cow is giving milk, we should not milk it completely. We should leave some milk for the calf too or else it will malnourish. This no one should ever forget," Siddaramaiah said.
The chief minister emphasised taking pride in Kannada and bringing it in daily use as much as possible.
Stating that Karnataka has people speaking more than 200 languages, Siddaramaiah said, whatever language people speak here or whichever caste or religion they belong to, they all are Kannadigas. Those who consume the air, water and food are Kannadigas, he told the gathering.
He said Kannada is a very old language with a history of 7,000 years. Hence, the Centre too recognised it as a classical language.
Siddaramaiah appealed to the people that they should never sacrifice Kannada language.
"I don't oppose being liberal. I in fact endorse being liberal but not at the cost of sacrificing our language," the chief minister noted.
"Our affection for our language should not be extreme, but we should never give up our pride for our language. We all should be Kannada lover," he added.
For Kannada to grow, people living here must become Kannadigas, Siddaramaiah said.
"I will never say not to learn any other language. Keep enhancing your linguistic wealth but never forget speaking in Kannada," he told people.
He reminded people that November 1 is not only the state formation day but also the anniversary of Mysore state getting the name of Karnataka by the then chief minister, late D Devaraj Urs.
A cultural programme themed around 'Hesarayithu Karnataka, Usiragali Kannada' (the state got the name Karnataka, now Kannada should become the breath) was held on the occasion.
