AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
OZRAN, VAGATOR: With only a week left for the Class X Board exams to commence and with most units within Anjuna Panchayat jurisdiction blasting music till early morning, the distressed residents expect some solace from the High Court of Bombay at Goa, hearing the Contempt Petition 12 of 2023, to appoint the Noise Monitoring Committee.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
After having rejected the names of Nyron Dias and Rohan Gadekar suggested by the government, due to conflict of interest, Amicus Curiae Nigel da Costa Frias recommended the names of Janie Crasto, Jeremy Ferreira and Dominic Pereira.
“My son’s Class X exams start on March 1 and it is sad that music can be heard till early morning. There seems to be no respite even during days of examination. Despite putting up with all the noise during the study holidays, we didn’t expect them to carry on,” said an infuriated Priya Mendonca, whose son is appearing for the exams.
“We are happy that the name of Janie Crasto has been suggested because despite having a less able son who is a victim of loud music, she has always been in the forefront in our fight against noise,” added Mendonca.
Music could be heard being played well beyond the permissible limits set by the Supreme Court around Ozra, South Anjuna and Vaddy in Siolim with only one night club in the name of Goya playing within their sound proof setup till early morning.
“I have been registering complaints on 112 for the last so many months to no avail. It is obvious that the authorities are conspiring with people who have scant regard for Supreme Court directives and it is therefore essential that the High Court set up the noise Monitoring Committee soon,” avers local Desmond D’Souza.
“By suggesting the name of Jeremy Ferreira, the Amicus Curiae has picked on an individual who is forthright and has always come forward to help those who are at the mercy of noise polluters,” said D’Souza whilst handing over screen shots of his complaints made to 112.
Despite the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) stating in its affidavit presented to the High Court that “noise meter found in a closed shelter and the device was wrapped in black tarpaulin,” in the column against unit Diaz , loud music was heard playing at 1 am. The same affidavit mentions that “closure direction issued” against the unit.
In North Anjuna, despite the affidavit mentioning that closure direction has been issued to Shiva Valley, guests could be seen dancing inside the premises and on the beach till around 2 am.
Echo and Vamos in Ozran, Vagator were seen accepting guests and playing music till morning despite a, “reminder letter being issued by the Collector for implementation of closure directions.”
“These places, mostly run by outsiders, do not care for the High Court or any closure notices sent to them. They make a mockery of orders by the Court and this cannot be possible had they not been in connivance with the government,” thinks Avelin, who claims she suffers from sleep deprivation due to the noise.
“At Diaz, we not only suffer from noise, but also parking problems as their drunken clients block our pathway. We have to call the police in the morning to clear the road to take my children to school,” moans Agnes D’Souza.
“Now that the High Court is going to appoint a new Noise Monitoring Committee, I expect truthful reports to be presented instead of the lies that have been fed all along. The government cannot think that they could be fooling the court all the time,” hoped D’Souza.
Disrupting the ambience of children preparing for their final year examinations is the last straw that the locals expected the violators of the law to pull.
