TEAM HERALD
TIVIM: Tension prevailed at Ashwem-Morjim on Wednesday night when angry locals blocked eight buses carrying foreign tourists, as they tried to leave a party which allegedly played loud music at a beach restaurant in Morjim.
According to reports, the locals gave vent to their anger after coincidentally attending a meeting earlier in the evening to protest against the unregulated loud music along the Pernem coast.
A joint meeting had been convened by residents along with Pernem Taluka Noise Pollution Monitoring Committee and different panchayat members of Morjim, Arambol, Mandrem and Parcem on Wednesday evening.
During the meeting in Morjim, the residents strongly protested against unabated noise pollution in the coastal area beyond permissible hours. They were also unhappy that the loud music was disrupting the studies of SSC students in the area.
Shortly after the meeting ended at about 9.30 pm, the residents were alerted that loud music was being played at a beach restaurant in Morjim.
Led by Parcem Sarpanch Devendra Deshprabhu and members of the monitoring committee, Adv. Prasad Sahapurkar and Nivrutti Shirodkar, the angry residents of Morjim rushed to the site and noticed that foreign tourists were proceeding back to their buses after the party.
The angry locals then demanded to meet the manager or the owner of the venue, but when they refused to meet them, the locals blocked the eight buses carrying the tourists from 10 pm onwards.
Sensing trouble, the event managers then turned up and tried to pacify the angry locals. A two-member police team also rushed to the site, but they were hopelessly outnumbered and remained mute spectators to the confrontation.
The locals then made futile attempts to contact the Pernem police inspector, but his phone was busy. The stranded tourists also tried to pacify the agitating locals, who refused to budge and insisted on meeting the manager or the owner of the venue.
Later at about 11.30 pm, a stronger police force led by PSI Vijay Chodankar went to the site to diffuse the tension by summoning the operations manager of the venue, where there were heated discussions between the manager, locals and the police till midnight, when reports last came in.
The stranded tourists also tried to pacify the agitating locals, who refused to budge and insisted on meeting the manager or the owner of the venue
