TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: While Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is likely to take a final call Friday, on the recommendations made by the State Level Events Permission Committee on three EDMs in North Goa, Calangute MLA Michael Lobo on Thursday has strongly rejected the recommendation to grant of permissions to all three EDMs in this December.
Lobo Thursday urged Parrikar to grant permission to only one event citing security concerns, law and order problems, traffic congestion and huge inconvenience to people of North Goa in the event of three festivals happening simultaneously.
When contacted for a reaction to the committee’s recommendation, Lobo said, “Let the chief minister decide which one of the three EDMs should be considered this December,” adding that the other two events can be granted permissions for hosting their events in the New Year.
The Calangute MLA said that there cannot be three events happening in North Goa all at one time considering the fact that the Goa police in the past have had a tough time handling just one EDM in Calangute.
“Imagine the pressure that the police machinery would have to deal with, with three events and the inconvenience that this will put the people of North Goa into,” Lobo explained. He said, “I have verbally spoken to the chief minister today (Thursday) requesting him to give permissions to one event at a time,” further stating that preference be given for one event in December and the others in the New Year.
When quizzed on which of the three EDMs he would prefer to have in his constituency in December he said, “I will be happy with any one,” and refused to comment further on his preferences.
The SLEPC on Wednesday recommended that the government grant permission to Percept’s Sunburn in Vagator, Viacom’s Supersonic at Candolim and Bresources’ The Goan Beach Grind at Baga.
This would mean two events in the constituency of Calangute (Supersonic and the Beach Grind) and one in the constituency of Siolim (Sunburn).
All three events are scheduled between December 26 and 30.
The recommendation of the SLEPC for three events in North Goa has also raised eye brows on how Vagator has been considered as a venue when reports from the police and district magistrate have rejected this proposal time and again.
Meanwhile none of the three event organizers are willing to back out even though they agree that there will be stiff competition to woo fans for the EDM music festivals.
Presently the Goan Beach Grind could face some hurdles as even though GTDC has granted NOC for using its property, the contractor currently working at the site is not willing to surrender the property at Baga.
Likewise Percept could also face hurdles in getting infrastructure in place for its venue at Vagator as the access to the venue is a narrow three meter road and would need major road widening works to handle vehicular movement.
