A planned Garba event near Roman Dine Hotel on Puna Canal Road in Surat has been stopped after Saroli police found that its organisers had not submitted mandatory fire safety, structural stability and roads and buildings permissions.
Saroli police issued a notice to the organisers of JG Navratri, directing them not to hold celebrations at the venue without the required licence and approvals. The event was scheduled from October 11 to October 20, according to the notice issued on Wednesday.
The notice said the organisers were required to obtain a premises licence by submitting documents and certificates prescribed under government regulations. Police stated that the organisers had allegedly failed to provide the required paperwork despite being informed in writing, verbally and over the phone.
The notice was addressed to Shakti Gohil, a resident of Varachha, and also named Jay Gohil, Sahil Domadiya and Jaydeep Galoliya as organisers. The police warned that the Garba programme could not continue without the necessary permissions and that legal action would follow if the event proceeded without approval.
Saroli police inspector SR Vekariya told the Times of India that the event was not allowed to take place at the venue on Thursday. He said the organisers had failed to produce several mandatory documents, including clearance from the roads and buildings department, a fire safety clearance and a structural stability report.
The requirements address different aspects of a temporary public gathering. Fire clearance concerns emergency access and evacuation arrangements, while a structural stability report is intended to establish that temporary structures and the venue can safely accommodate the planned activity. The roads and buildings approval forms part of the permissions required for the site and its associated arrangements.
The police action also covers the first three days of Garba celebrations, which the inspector said had been held without permission. The notice stated that legal action would be initiated in relation to those celebrations.
The case places the approval of temporary festival venues within the wider system of municipal and public-safety regulation. Large gatherings often require coordination between event organisers and multiple authorities before they can operate lawfully. In this instance, police said the organisers had not completed that process before beginning the celebrations.
Saroli police said the event would not be permitted until the organisers submitted all the necessary approvals. The next step identified in the notice is therefore the submission and examination of the pending documents, alongside any legal action relating to the celebrations already held without permission.
