Politicos singe over Sunburn fest (Herald)

Politicos singe over Sunburn fest September 11, 2013 TEAM HERALD PANJIM: Politicking has again picked up over the annual Sunburn music fest, as a day after Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said that he would not allow the event in Candolim. Calangute MLA Michael Lobo responded by saying that he would also not want the event in Candolim unless and until the government provided adequate infrastructure facilities to hold the annual mega event. “Unless and until the government makes available facilities such as parking spaces and widens the roads leading to the Sunburn event venue, I will not allow this annual music fest in my constituency,” Lobo said Tuesday. The Calangute MLA said that while he supported organisation of tourism related events in Goa such as Sunburn as it generates revenue for the State, he reiterated that such events cannot be permitted without proper arrangements being made as they cause inconvenience to the locals residing in the area. He said traffic plans need to be worked out so that there is no congestion and vehicular movement is smooth, especially for emergency services that may be required for the sick and old residing in the area. Lobo pointed out that just as roads have been widened at Baga and Calangute, the same should be done at Candolim and there should be one way traffic arrangements to and from the Sunburn venue. Lobo said that even the sound needs to be regulated as the high decibel sound from the event disturbs the residents. “Last year there were a lot of complaints over the noise pollution from the event,” he said adding that in case the government decides to grant permission for Sunburn in Candolim that it would need to ensure that the sound decibels are monitored or the timings of the event should be changed from 5 pm to 10 pm instead of allowing it to commence from 12 noon to 10 pm. Lobo said that he was not certain as to why his colleague Parulekar did not want the event in Candolim pointing out that no MLA wants Sunburn in their constituency leaving the organisers with the sole option of hosting the event in Candolim. “But I will make noise louder that their sound decibels if the government allows it in Candolim without providing infrastructure, this time around,” he said. Lobo also said that last year the government got over Rs 1 crore revenue from Sunburn “this cannot be done at the cost of the people or else some amount should be spent in return towards developing facilities needed there.” Last year the tourism ministry granted permission to Sunburn virtually on the eve of the event after much uncertainty, as Parulekar had then also opposed the event in Candolim compelling the event organisers to make alternate plans in South Goa. This year Sunburn organisers have applied for permissions from the single window State Level Committee. Sources in the tourism department were tight-lipped on the proposed venues. Interestingly St Andre MLA Vishnu Wagh’s views on Sunburn have also raised eyebrows, thereby now increasing the numbers of BJP MLAs with swords raised against Sunburn. The Calangute MLA said that while he supported organisation of tourism related events in Goa such as Sunburn as it generates revenue, he reiterated that such events cannot be permitted without proper arrangements being made as they cause inconvenience to the locals residing in the area http://www.oheraldo.in/News/Local%20News/Politicos-singe-over-Sunburn-fest/79312.html Organisers of Sunburn hawk early bird tickets Published on Tuesday, 10 September 2013 10:01 The Sunburn festival 2013 in Goa is yet to get approval from the state government, but that has not stopped organisers from announcing the sale of “early bird tickets” from September 11 for the event that takes place in December. While Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said the application for the event is still pending with the government, he was confident that the festival would not be staged at Candolim. But Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) Vice-Chairman Vishnu Wagh has described Sunburn as “a bad concept that is spoiling the youth” and has instead, suggested an international western music concert in the state. Dilip Parulekar confirmed that the government was yet to give its approval to the festival. “We have received an application for the festival, but it is up to the single window committee to take a decision on it. This time though, I will not allow the event to be organised at Candolim at any cost and the organisers have shortlisted 2-3 places in north and south Goa,” Parulekar told Herald. When asked how the organisers had advertised the Continued on pg 10 sale of tickets from September 11 before getting approval from the government, Parulekar said: “They may have advertised online, but I cannot stop them from doing that.” On the other hand, fellow BJP legislator Wagh has felt that events such as Sunburn need to be brought under the purview of the ESG, so that they can be monitored by regulatory agencies, besides adding to the revenue of the state. “Sunburn is a bad concept and is spoiling the youth, but I don’t want it to be banned. Instead, the state government should have a regulatory body like the ESG to monitor such events and help the state treasury in benefiting from such events. “I have told my government so many times that if it declares entertainment as an industry, we can get huge revenue annually from the entertainment sector.” “Bookings for the Sunburn festival have already started on the Internet, though the organizers are yet to get permission. There is no check on the rates of the tickets and no one knows how much money the organisers will collect by organising the festival,” Wagh added. Asked if he had any alternate plans for a mega music festival in the state, Wagh replied: “Sunburn is nothing but DJ and trance music. In fact, just three days ago, I had consulted my friends in the international music circle and had proposed that we should have an international western music concert, where we can invite 150 groups from all over the world to Goa. We could have music for three days and three nights and this would be better than the DJ and trance music at Sunburn.” Incidentally, Goa Police had earlier written to the state government advising against issuing permission to ‘Sunburn”, as it is a “high risk hazard to participants” and its location along the Candolim sea front had made it “highly vulnerable” to terrorist attacks. When contacted, a senior police official confirmed that Goa Police was yet to receive the application pertaining to the Sunburn festival in the state. [H] http://www.goacom.com/goa-news-highlights/13149-organisers-of-sunburn-hawk-early-bird-tickets