PANJIM: Curtorim MLA and Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) chairman Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco on Tuesday said that the Board rejected the proposal of the Sunburn organisers to hold this year’s electronic dance music (EDM) festival on GIDC land at the Quitol-Betul plateau.
Lourenco said, “The proposal of Sunburn organisers seeking permission to hold the festival on the land belonging to GIDC in South Goa came before the Board on Monday, and it was rejected because it was not in our rules.”
Raia, Camorlim oppose Sunburn in South Goa
Lourenco said that some vested elements were targeting him that he had brought the EDM festival to South Goa. “The Sunburn festival is held every year organised by a private party. These elements are making statements without ascertaining the facts,” he said.
South Goans knock on Collector’s door as Sunburn’s official application is revealed
MARGAO: Objecting to the possibility of the contentious Sunburn EDM festival being held in South Goa, a group of local residents on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to the South Goa District Collector in Margao, demanding that the government should deny permission to the event.
A delegation of concerned citizens led by Gerson Gomes, and accompanied by Verma D’Mello, Patricia Fernandes, Minguel Fernandes and Joaquim Dias, met with Collector Asvin Chandru, to convey their reasons for requesting the denial of permission for the Sunburn EDM festival.
Velim MLA Cruz Silva also joined the delegation.
He stressed on political representation and community solidarity on the issue.
It has been stated that a strong wave of opposition has started building in the form of public statements as well as street demonstrations by various citizens, activists and organisations. A number of village panchayats have already passed resolutions against the event and more are expected to follow.
“Goa is already suffering from the menace of psychotropic drugs, and has become a major conduit, trading point and a hub for the international drug trade. The use of such drugs has gone beyond the traditional tourism and urban belts and this has now infiltrated deep into our villages and schools/colleges, to the point where one of the government medical authorities calling it an epidemic,” they further stated.
Citizens have also brought to the notice of the Collector that instead of taking steps to reduce the scourge of drugs, the government of Goa appears to be promoting the avenues available in the State for the sale and abuse of drugs.
“The massive influx of festival attendees is in addition to the traditional sharp spike in the number of tourists who visit Goa during the exact same time to celebrate Christmas and New Year, and will overburden the law and order machinery dealing with traffic and crimes,” the memorandum stated.
Gerson Gomes, a local resident, said that Sunburn boasts itself as Asia’s largest music festival, but unfortunately it happens in one of India’s smallest States, leading to an unreasonable amount of pollution of different kinds.
“As seen in previous years, massive amount of garbage is generated in the form of bottles, food waste, plastic, Styrofoam decorations, etc, which is strewn in and around the venue,” he claimed.
It has been also stated in the memorandum that in December last year, the High Court had deemed the Sunburn festival held the previous years as illegal and in violation of a number of procedures and laws.
It also mentioned that the Sunburn EDM organisers cannot be seen as more powerful than the Goa government, ministers and departments and the laws.