PANJIM: People have been encouraged and had the courage to escalate their fight against loud music in the Anjuna-Vagator party belt. The pushback by Herald against attempts to browbeat and intimidate its reporter Asmita Polji, was immediate. Herald has fully backed Polji’s efforts to get the “goons” (their behaviour against her and her fellow reporter can only be classified as that) who purportedly criminally intimidated her and her colleague for listening to the voices of the common man in Anjuna battling against noise pollution.
Herald’s constant flow of stories, which will continue to highlight not just the case but the sheer audacity of bar and restaurant owners – most of them from outside Goa hand in glove with their local owners – of playing music of very high decibels flouting both noise and time limits.
And this happens day in and day out. But one thing has changed:
“WITH HERALD TALKING UP OUR CAUSE WE HAVE NO FEAR, WE WILL FIGHT WITH RENEWED VIGOUR”
In a debate on Herald TV on Friday, a group of Anjuna locals along with other extended family and friends came to the Herald studio to hear the debate while it was getting recorded and convey their desire not to give up this fight, for themselves, for their future and for Goa.
Alisha D’Sa lives right opposite one of the big bars which have been particularly offensive about its loud music on the Anjuna beach belt. In her twenties, she has made several complaints along with her friends and other locals and is seen as one of the pillars coming in the way of those who illegally play loid music.
Her suffering is clear. “This restaurant had opened end of December. We were initially told that no one would face any issues with regard to music. But they played extremely loud music not just during Christmas-New Year weekend but every single day. This was not just a weekend party; it just wasn’t tolerable anymore. One person can hear this for two to five days but not every day,” she said on the Herald TV debate.
She also said how this was hampering her professionally “I work for an US company; my work goes on from 5.30 pm to 12.30 am. Even if you are sitting in one corner of the house the music is impacting you. It’s not possible to hear this kind of music, your ears are bursting, and you get headaches”.
“The evening is a time when Goans want to sit on the balcony, enjoy the breeze and relax. But with the deafening music. They are prisoners in their own homes.”
Finally, she said, “When all doors were closed and the police were not helping us, we turned to Herald. We spoke to Asmita (Herald reporter). Herald’s reports have given us strength and courage to fight.”
Her friend and neighbour Alton D’Souza who has been particularly active in making several trips to the police station said, “Loud music affects my work hours. My calls are mostly at night. My job ends at late night. My calls are recorded and this loud music can be heard over my calls. It’s very difficult to explain to them”. But then he added “We have decided to fight and have been greatly emboldened because Herald is with us. We have formed a group. Earlier we used to make calls on 112 to inform the police. They used to give a registration number in response. Soon they stopped doing even that. And took no action. But we will not give up and make the police and the authorities accountable.”
Adv Gaurish Malik who was the advocate on record for one of the landmark petitions against sound pollution which led to a major judgment laying down the guidelines to be followed by authorities to control this menace, said, “Regular monitoring is not happening. The police need to cooperate. The sound monitoring committees need a proper response for them to do their work, but we need to see what kind of efforts have been made by them too”. Malik indicated that a contempt of court petition was on its way as the High Court guidelines issued as a directive have not been followed by the authorities.
In the end, it was Michael Fernandes who underlined that beneath this fight there is a lot of sadness. “Look at what our beautiful Anjuna was. This was a simple fishing village where communities were tightly knit. Our own neighbours and friends have sold or leased their lands and we have no objection. But when the management of these places makes our lives miserable and our own friends and neighbours who back them, go against us, we are deeply hurt and saddened. We do not want to go against them, but we have our aged parents who are falling sick with anxiety and tension. And thus, we have to take them on. And we thank Herald for standing with us”.
We hope the new Government is reading this and hearing the pain of fellow Goans. We are sure this will move them enough to realise that it’s clear which side they need to be on. The side Herald has always chosen – with the people.
