Gurgaon’s weekend plans cancelled after #DeraViolence in state

After Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was was found guilty of rape on Friday, his followers went on a rampage across Punjab and Haryana. Even though Gurgaon did not witness any violence, taking into account the condition in the rest of the state, many weekend events in the city were cancelled. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC were also issued in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida and Gurgaon to restrict movement of people in groups.From celeb visits to a district-level swimming championship, many activities were postponed for security reasons.
Nargis Fakhri postpones visit to the city
Actress Nargis Fakhri was supposed to visit a real estate project in Sector 65 on Saturday. However, following the unrest due to the Ram Rahim verdict, her visit was postponed. “It was a joint decision to postpone the event given the circumstances in town. Safety is paramount,” one of the organisers told us.
No fun for kids this weekend
It was a no-fun weekend for Gurgaon kids as a number of events were cancelled. Haryana Kala Parishad had organised a nine-day festival in the city but it had to be cancelled on the fourth day itself. An official who was part of the organising team told us, “It was a nine-day event but we had to cancel it on the fourth day. It doesn’t seem like we will be able to conduct it now. However, nothing is decided yet.”
Government officials took prohibitory measures and postponed or cancelled many events. A few events were lined up at the community centre in Sector 29, for the weekend, including a gala night, which had to be cancelled as well. S S Rohilla, the MCG spokesperson, told us, “The Government of Haryana has imposed Section 144 in different parts of the state that restricts gatherings at public places. It was only logical for us to cancel the event as we are a government department.” Without revealing any details, the Swimming Association also cancelled a two-day district open swimming championship that was to be organised at the Huda Gymkhana club in Sector 29 from Saturday. The Gurgaon Rapid Metro had organised an evening with kids and parents, which was postponed to a later date. A Rapid Metro official said, “It has been postponed due to the ongoing situation in the state. The next date for organising the programme will be conveyed as soon as it is finalised.”
Organisers said there was panic and confusion among people and they wanted to avoid any untoward incident
#NotInMyName protests shifted to September 10
Several events were scheduled for Sunday as part of the #NotInMyName campaign, however, after the Friday incident, the protest was postponed to September 10. Saba Dewan, a Gurgaon-based filmmaker, who is also one of the organisers, told us, “We had planned about 100 events in NCR on Sunday, and all those events are now shifted to September 10. There was panic and confusion among people and we wanted to avoid any untoward incident, so we felt that it is better to shift it.”
No change in Transgender pageant
The first pan-India transgender pageant, Miss Trans Queen India 2017, was set to go ahead as per schedule at a hotel in Gurgaon on Sunday, till the time of going to press. Even though most events that had to take place in the city were cancelled, the organisers of the pageant decided to go ahead with the event. Reena Rai, founder of the pageant, said, “My whole team is here and the participants have put in a lot of effort to participate. If we cancel the event, they will have to change their travel plans. Keeping in mind their commuting issues, we have decided to go ahead with the event. Besides, our fashion show is not a public gathering but in a hotel. So security measures have already been taken.”
With inputs from Abhimanyu Mathur