Team Herald
MAPUSA: The Villagers of North Goa district on Monday strongly opposed large-scale events like Sunburn EDM, TVS MotoSol and Bollywood festivals, citing the negative impacts on the environment, culture, and lifestyle.
Speaking to mediapersons, the villagers took note of a video going viral on social media that Sunburn is back to Vagator this year, they raised concerns about noise pollution, traffic congestion, inadequate waste management, after parties, crime, and inadequate facilities during the event.
While supporting tourism, they advocated for sustainable, family-friendly models that preserve Goan culture and identity. The villagers called on the government and the public to reject destructive tourism and work towards protecting Goa’s heritage.
Dr Inacio Fernandes said, “We hope that the Anjuna-Caisua sarpanch and local MLA will support us in this endeavour and we will approach them. We also hope that the Comunidade of Anjuna and the people will understand what is going on the village is not good for them.”
Jose Maria Miranda said, “The Sunburn organisers have ahead with sale of tickets subject to permissions. The High Court had had stated that permissions given to the Sunburn EDM in 2022 were illegal. Now the question is whether the event will go on throughout the night and till next day early morning.”
Jannet Morris said that during the three-day event, the residents face difficulty to move out of their houses even for shopping. The rods are made one-way and they are forced to travel long distances to reach to their homes.
Villagers Kapil Korgaonkar, Nilesh Morajkar, Joaquim Barros, Gregory D’Souza, Alex Noronha and others were present during press briefing.