TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Viacom 18 Friday submitted documents before the State Level Events Permissions sub-committee setting the stage for the government to give its final verdict by early next week on who should host the mega electronic dance music festival at Candolim this December.
The tussle for the big ‘permission’ took an interesting turn Friday with some of the plot owners who have tied up with Viacom placing their views before the sub-committee. While some of them voiced their dissent against organizers of Sunburn, their presence before the sub-committee almost seemed to appear as a show of support and partnership with Viacom 18, the organizers of Supersonic, a premier EDM event by this agency.
Viacom proposes to organize its EDM festival between December 26 and 30 and four more entertainment events in Goa during 2014 if they are permitted to host their EDM in December.
This agency, the second contender for Goa government’s permission for an EDM event at Candolim in this December, claimed to have titles and lease agreement to land admeasuring 74,000 sq meters in plot areas marked as A and B and another 54,000 sq meters for parking.
The committee sought some clarity on certain issues and Viacom 18 is expected to present any further document sought for by Saturday.
North Goa Collector Mihir Vardhan who heads the sub-committee said that Viacom 18 has time till November 25 and are likely to submit some more documents on Saturday morning.
As the scenario hots up and so also the speculations on who will ultimately succeed in the race for the EDM licence, factions and support for either group began growing from various quarters.
Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar who was caught on camera with organizers of Sunburn, in a Saligao street, reported in the local media raised eyebrows earlier this week. Interestingly Calangute MLA Michael Lobo refused to comment pointing out that chief minister Manohar Parrikar will take the final decision.
He however said that Candolim will get an EDM festival whether Sunburn or Supersonic as the event helps locals in the tourism business and also generates revenue for the government.
This year the event fee for the EDM festival has been fixed at Rs 1 crore and an equal amount as security deposit.
