Chandigarh, Feb. 5 -- Even though last year's star nights had turned into a nightmare, with a student being fatally stabbed during one of the concerts, Panjab University Student Council (PUCSC) members are keen on including these in their upcoming fests, though vice-chancellor Renu Vig has made it clear that no such event will be allowed on the main campus. Last March, singer Arjan Dhillon's performance had to be cancelled after massive crowding led to chaos and traffic gridlock, with students also seen scaling the campus walls to catch a glimpse of the star. Another concert, held a few days later, took a tragic turn as a student, Aditya Thakur was fatally stabbed and succumbed to his injuries days later. In response, the university issued strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) in May 2025, fixing a fest calendar (Agaaz in October, Vimarsh and Scitron in February, Jhankaar in March), banning star nights across all university and department fests, barring PUCSC events after March 15, mandating collective council participation, and curbing cash sponsorships. But PUCSC president Gauravver Sohal and general secretary Abhishek Daggar are hoping the authorities make an exception. Sohal, who plans to hold PU's flagship fest 'Jhankaar' from March 14-18, says he intends to include a star night and claims lessons have been learnt from last year. "We will ensure a three tier security arrangement - at the gates, mid campus, and the venue - and will engage professional bouncers with support from sponsors," he said. PUCSC vice-president Ashmeet Singh, who owes allegiance to the SATH party, however, has taken a different stance. Singh, who is organising the fest, Vimarsh Mela, scheduled for February 25-26 under the theme "celebration of diversity", said, "The star night goes against our party guidelines and is not the culture we promote; we want to keep it a student-centric cultural festival." V-C Renu Vig said the university's stance was shaped by public safety directives. "We are not opposed to cultural engagement, but we are bound by clear instructions from the Chandigarh police and administration that star nights cannot be held on the main campus. The university simply does not have the infrastructure or crowd management capacity for its student strength," she said, adding that students were free to consider the Sector 25 rally ground if they wished to organise such performances. Dean student welfare Amit Chauhan said, "So far, I have only received proposed dates for the fests, not a detailed blueprint of how they will be organised. Until a complete plan is submitted and reviewed, the existing SOPs will continue to apply as they are."...