Sunburn 2008 gets green signal

THE PARTY IS ON
Sunburn 2008 gets green signal
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Panaji: Despite the government declaring that “open” beach festivals are banned, the organizers of the Sunburn 2008 music beach festival managed to get permission to hold the festival at Candolim beach by enclosing the premises with metal sheets.
“The SP (north) and SP (traffic) have both issued a conditional NOC and if any condition is breached, the NOC will be cancelled,” said SP (intelligence) Atmaram Deshpande.
Highly placed sources said that there was immense pressure on the organizers to issue the NOC, due to which the police issued a conditional NOC after the organizers promised to comply with several directions. Sources revealed that the NOC will hold only if the organizers comply with the condition of having armed private guards in uniform, traffic marshals to man vehicles, security men in plain clothes, hand metal detectors, frame metal detectors, sniffer dogs and the entire area enclosed with metal sheets. It is also said that no minor should be allowed and everyone’s I-cards should be checked. “There are about 22 conditions the organizers have to comply with,” sources said
“The NOC also states that there should be no parking in the lane and a separate parking provision should be made. Penal action will be initiated in case the organizers fail to comply with the undertaking they have given us,” said police sources. The police have also asked the organizers to stop all activity by 10 pm.
Incidentally, even when the police were refusing to grant an NOC, Manuj Agarwal, chief operating officer of Percept D’- Mark had declared that the festival is on. “They have been given permission on the technical ground that the festival is going to be held on private property behind the sand dunes at Candolim and not on the beach,” said sources in the government.
The Sunburn festival, dedicated to the promotion of peace and global harmony, aims to attract more than 3000 people and will be held from December 27 to December 29. More than 35 music artists from around the
world will play across 4 stages on the beach, and will have food stalls, fire jugglers, stilt walkers, a flea market and will also promote environmental awareness and education.
Deputy Collector (Mapusa) MV Khorjuenkar said, “Earlier the report was that the festival was on the beach, but as they said that it is being held on private property, the police verified it and gave a report to us that the music permission should be granted as the organizers have given an undertaking.”
“We discussed the matter with the collector and after examining the case granted permission as the festival doesn’t violate the government order banning open beach parties,” he added.

December 27, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition