SOTER D’SOUZA
The months preceding the Birch by Romeo Lane tragedy in Arpora had witnessed a spirited bat tle from citizens in the Bar dez coastal belt against noise pollution. The hide and seek and passing the buck among various government agencies, when it came to enforcing the law against the nuisance caused by some nightclubs and shacks, had forced citi zens to seek legal recourse as a last resort. This resulted in a monitoring committee being appointed by the court to con duct surprise inspections, pre pare strategies and control the noise pollution. However, the corruption ridden governance system has become so rotten that the various agencies have enough loopholes to protect the ille galities and violations till as much time possible. Very often defective notices are served by the concerned government agencies to leave legal scope for the violators to obtain stay the orders and continue the nuisance. The irony is that ultimately it’s the productive man hours and money of cit izens that gets spent in seek ing justice, while the elected government defends its acts of omission and commis sion with the citizens’ money from taxes. The citizens lose every side while the politicians and bureaucrats enjoy the par ty. After the Arpora fire tragedy, there have been regular news updates about government agencies swinging into action and sealing several night clubs that lack the requisite per missions to operate. All this action appears to be nothing more than a drama enacted to give the court and the angry public an impression that the government is serious. There is all likelihood that no soon er the sword dangled by the High Court appointing an ami cus curie to map the violations by night clubs state-wide is removed, the situation could gradually slip back to where all the nonsense stopped. The question which actually needs to be discussed is, how come businesses with the potential of generating noise beyond permissible decibels, wheth er during the night or day, are being permitted in traditional residential localities? Goa’s economic model is promoting a brand of tourism which is diametrically oppo site to the Goan ‘Sosegado’ culture. Goa was more about a state of quiet contentment, un hurried living, soft and relaxed conversations in the balcao or at the village ‘tinto’ and nights of silence. A Goa which sells it self by day as a paradise with pristine beaches, palm-fringed coastline, Portuguese culture and a rich heritage, turns into a living hell by night with am plified noise, gambling, fire works, and booze and drug parties in the guise of tourism promotion. Goa has become a destina tion wherein the less privi leged local citizens are denied their peace and made to pay with their mental and physical health for what is entertain ment for the rich and famous. The pleasure-seeking adven ture of the rich and affluent class of citizens could well be summed up by a Konkani proverb which says “mazracho khell mhonnlear unddirachem moron”, which in the literal sense means ‘what is play for the cat, is death for the rat.’ The controversy and nervousness which kicks off every time the government steps up the en forcement of a sound ban only goes to expose a deep-seated hypocrisy in society. The impression sought to be created is that all the tourism related nuisance is caused only by outsiders. What is played down is the role of locals as a go between to help outsiders in getting the authorities to look the other way on illegal ities. Goans themselves urge the government to explore ways to legally bypass the 10 pm rule, and extend timings beyond midnight to permit loud music for traditional so cial events and ceremonies. Emotional outbursts do the rounds in social media about how a once-in-a-lifetime event like a wedding which incurs huge costs cannot be enjoyed because of the sound restric tions. The convenient ration alisation and justification for relaxing the time limits is the usual victimhood card about the loss of local livelihoods and disruption of traditional forms of celebration. It is often claimed that all along the traditional events and ceremonies that stretched beyond 10 pm were accepted by society in a spirit of broth erhood and harmony. Was technology so developed in the past to amplify sound as it is today? Just because residents living around such open-air venues and religious places have not formally complained or protested against loud mu sic at night, can it be assumed that their tolerance is an en dorsement for such distur bance in the locality? Can this become a licence for some in dividuals to deprive others of their right to an environment of silence when it comes to re laxing, studying or sleeping? Perhaps, it is not yet ‘enough is enough’ for Goans when it comes to noise pollution and disturbance to the neighbour hood at night, for their per sonal celebrations, religious festivities and personal busi ness interests. This may be the reason why noise pollution has not figured in a 10-point people’s charter of demands which was released last month. A truth which gets ignored is that what is a once in a lifetime event for one individual is ac tually a daily nightmare for those living around such open air venues and religious places during the wedding and festive season. Do the same principles that apply for the protection of Goa’s environment, peace and security become negotiable no sooner it comes to person al comfort or celebrations of Goans? Importantly, celebrating re sponsibly reflects social matu rity. A community that can re joice without causing distress demonstrates empathy and respect for all its members. Joy that depends on disturb ing others is neither inclusive nor sustainable. Music played at reasonable levels, tradition al performances, community gatherings, lights, decorations, dance, and shared meals can create vibrant and memorable events without disturbing the wider public. Many cultures already practice forms of qui et or low-noise celebration that emphasise symbolism and togetherness over spectacle. Goans need to tune down the rowdiness and competition from display of money power seeping into their celebrations. (The author has worked with community initiatives related to Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention, HIV/AIDs Prevention, Panchayati Raj, Anti-Corruption, Environ ment Protection and Social Justice.)
