Verna locals rush to industrial estate to check on the visit of ‘BookMyShow’ reps with IDC officials

VERNA: On Wednesday late afternoon, people from Loutolim and nearby villages,  accompanied by Congress leaders, rushed to the Verna Industrial Estate and found two representatives of the BookMyShow company carrying out a land survey in the presence of officials from the Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC). 

The locals immediately demanded to know if this exercise was being conducted to find a location for the much-opposed Sunburn festival.

Local residents, including Arvind Menezes and Zarina Da Cunha among others present, questioned the BookMyShow representatives about why a company primarily involved in events and ticket sales for events was surveying industrial land. When the representative repeatedly stated that he had travelled from Mumbai solely to survey the land, the locals were sceptical.

When GIDC officials present were questioned about the visit’s purpose, the officials stated that showing interested parties various plots was a standard procedure when there’s interest in industrial land.

The official reiterated that they were simply showing the land and were unaware of any other intentions, particularly in response to questions about whether the land was being surveyed for Sunburn.

Patkar pointed out that BookMyShow had started selling tickets for the Sunburn festival openly from Wednesday itself.

He questioned whether the timing was coincidental, given that the Sunburn website now indicates the festival will be held in South Goa this year, with tickets being sold accordingly.  He alleged that GIDC was attempting to facilitate Sunburn’s relocation to Corporation-owned land in South Goa.

There have been widespread protests against not only the festival's proposed relocation from its earlier venues in North Goa to South Goa but also against hosting the event in Goa at all.

Gram sabhas from South Goa had already passed resolutions opposing the festival’s shift to their region. Moreover, GIDC Chairman Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco had recently informed media persons that the GIDC Board had rejected the Sunburn organizers’ application to host the festival at Quitol, also located in South Goa, which falls under GIDC’s jurisdiction.

Given that BookMyShow representatives were surveying land at the Verna Industrial Estate, Patkar demanded a clarification from Lourenco, in his capacity as GIDC Chairman, regarding the purpose of this survey. 

Patkar and the locals strongly criticised the State government, including Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte, for allegedly disregarding local sentiments.

They suggested that the annual uncertainty surrounding Sunburn’s permission might be a ploy to facilitate a potential backdoor deal that would ultimately allow the festival to proceed.