MARGAO: Claiming that rules applicable under the action plan on noise pollution have impacted the staging of tiatr shows in villages and other cultural events, the tiatr fraternity and the village-level associations involved in organising tiatrs have expressed their frustration and demanded relaxation at the earliest.
It has come to light that an applicant had to personally travel to the office of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) at Saligao to get the clearance, which resulted in major hardships for tiatrists and organisers, besides several others for holding cultural events and wedding receptions.
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With the majority of the village shows in South Goa, the long commute to Saligao jut to get sound permissions makes it absolutely unviable to stage shows.
However, the new rules under the action plan on noise pollution of the Department of Environment and with GSPCPB being an implementing agency have impacted the staging of traditional tiatr shows in the villages.
Speaking to O Heraldo, several tiatrists and the organisers stated that travelling to the office of the Goa Pollution Control Board at Saligao to get the clearance is a waste of time and energy.
Many also feel that applying this rule to cultural events such as tiatr is like destroying the traditions of Goan culture.
Interestingly, Srinet Kothwale, South Goa Additional Collector-I admitted that the applicant has to personally travel to the GSPCB office to get the clearance pertaining to noise pollution.
Kothwale said that the deputy collector’s offices in South Goa are acting as per the guidelines issued by GSPCB, wherein the rules under the action plan for noise pollution have been notified by the government.
Earlier, tiatr show organisers would get sound permission for staging tiatr until 10 pm at the deputy collector’s level, after filing an application at the police station concerned.
Speaking to O Heraldo, senior tiatr director Roseferns said that creating hardships for the tiatrists and tiatr show organisers in the villages to get clearance from the GSPCB is totally unacceptable.
“We cannot compare the big musical events and staging of tiatr shows in the villages. In the villages, the tiatr shows are meant for smaller audiences for which the organisers make arrangements for small sound systems,” he said.
He further stated that travelling to Saligao and that too for getting clearance is a waste of money and time.
“This can be done at the Deputy Collector’s level as the office can adopt an online procedure instead of forcing the tiatr organisers to travel to Saligao. I must say that this is more like creating problems for the tiatr fraternity,” said Roseferns.
Another tiatr director Pascoal de Chicalim appealed to tiatrists, organisers, and parish priests involved in staging tiatrs in villages to raise their voices against the attempt to murder the spirit of tiatrs and tiatrists by imposing new rules.
“I always believed and told others that our tiatr is the second opposition to the government of the State. Years ago, the opposition and the tiatrists had literally brought the government to its knees. The opposition would slam the government in the assembly and the tiatrists would do the same on the stage,” he recalled.
He said that tiatr is dying a slow death due to the politicians, who don’t want to be preached from the stage and hence a silent broth is cooking to finish tiatr altogether.
“Now the government is trying to sabotage the staging of tiatrs in the villages. Earlier, the organisers had to take permission from the police and Deputy Collector’s office to stage shows in villages till the prescribed time, but now the government insists on GSPCB clearance. This is a final nail in the coffin for the tiatr and tiatrists,” he said.
Expressing his frustration, a tiatr organiser from Salcete demanded relaxation at the earliest.
