VIBHA VERMA
vibha@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: While the State is debating the issue of late night parties, particularly after two youth died of suspected overdose last weekend, the State government is discussing whether permission should be granted to a new Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festival. Tourism Department has received a proposal from a firm in Gujarat to hold “Time Out 72 Music Festival” from December 28 to 29, 2017 at Vagator.
Sources said the firm will be granted permission to host its maiden event in the coastal belt considering that the peak tourist season last year failed to attract footfalls after Sunburn and Supersonic EDMs moved to Pune.
Information available with Herald reveals that Ayush Mehta of Sudarshan Entertainment Pvt Ltd (Limited Liability Partnership), Ahmedabad, has proposed to hold the mega event in survey number 206/1 at Vagator, opposite Hilltop in Anjuna. The State Level Permission Committee (SLPC) under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary (Tourism) is holding a series of meetings with government agencies on the panel even as in-principal approval has been granted.
Director of Timeout 72 Hours, Argha Chatterjee, proposed the event in an area of 2.50 lakh sq metres, while an area of 30,000 sq metres is proposed for parking of around 750 cars.
The organisers have committed a 12-hour long party from 10 am to 10 pm and the authorities are ensuring that permission conditions will be adhered to, unlike some of the former events.
North SP Chandan Chowdhary is on record that illegal parties till the late hours raise the possibility of drugs and overconsumption of liquor. “We will ensure that we adhere to this time limit (for all mega dance and music festivals),” she said.
“If the new EDM happens in Goa, we will ensure it concludes at 10pm on all days and not hesitate to arrest the organisers if any sort of violation is reported,” a senior officer said.
Tourism Minister Manohar Azgaonkar confirmed receiving the proposal stating any dance-music festival should follow Goa’s cultural decorum and abide by court judgments. “Dance and music is a part of Goa’s sanskriti and is a way to flourish the tourism industry. However, any form of indecency, drug-related activities and violation of Supreme Court and High Court orders on holding such mega events, and hurting Goenkarponn will not be tolerated. Goa’s culture should be maintained,” he told Herald. The minister, who has been supporting the return of Sunburn and Supersonic to Goa, hinted at granting permission to the new EDM.
Fearing more drug overdose deaths in view of rampant drug-laced parties, a Anjuna panch member alleged that police action against illegal activities is short-lived. “The previous EDMs were given a set of conditions but we saw deaths of Meha Bahuguna and Isha Mantry. In the last two-three days we saw two more deaths of young tourists due to suspected drug overdose. The outdoor dance-music events held on a large scale, very often violate the rules, including sound pollution, but the authorities are hardly consistent in their action,” he alleged.
Azgaonkar demanded strict action against the police team in whose jurisdiction narcotics trade is carried out. “Police inspectors and constables should be held responsible. We want Goa to be drugs-free,” he added.
The Ahmedabad entertainment company’s plea comes when two giant firms – Percept Live and Viacom 18 – allegedly upset with the government’s attitude shifted Sunburn and Supersonic respectively to Pune last year.
The two companies initially competed with each other over the venue to host their events after a clash over the dates (December 27-30). Nonpayment of dues to the government and State Level Permission Committee’s conditions that both events should not clash and be held before December 15 or after January 15 from 2016 year onwards, reportedly upset the organisers prompting them to shift to the new venue.
The two festival organisers owe the government a whopping Rs 6.82 crore approximately, with Supersonic to pay Rs 2.40 crore to the Commercial Taxes for the year 2013-14.
