There has always been a touch of lawlessness to certain aspects of Goa’s tourism industry. There have always been a few establishments that deem it normal to cross the line or step on people’s toes, all for the opportunity to earn more money. As competition heats up and Goa’s becomes the go-to place for India’s party animals, the locals are the ones who usually end up with the short end of the stick.
A case in point would be the recent petition by villagers from the northern village of Morjim, who have petitioned the chief minister, the chief secretary and the director general of police over the instances of loud music being played through the night and into the early hours of the morning. The antagonists in this case are a few clubs in Morjim and Chapora, who are even advertising for these late night parties via posters.
This is not the first complaint or petition about late night music turning into a nuisance. The issue has been taken up for years now and was the reason behind the implementation of the Goa amendment of the Madhya Pradesh Sound Act in January 2005. But for the 11 years since the Act was implemented, things haven’t always been rosy. The industry was up in arms then, claiming that their way of life would suffer. It really hasn’t. Clubs and other establishments who wished to extend their music-playing hours spent money and enclosed their premises. The show went on.
The Sound Act dictates that no live music shall be played beyond 10 am. This applies to open air spaces. There are relaxed rules during festivals and certain events, but by and large the rules apply to everyone. Implementation and enforcement is another thing altogether. A lot more needs to be done to enforce the rules, but there is still a matter of specified decibel levels that needs to be verified by a government authority, in this case the Goa State Pollution Control Board.
As a state which relies on tourism as one of its main industries, Goa certainly does need to cater to the crowd that wants to stay up beyond 10 pm and not in a confined space. For a state that has a large coastline and excellent vistas, there surely needs to be some compromise in the Sound Act for areas that are not inhabited. Entertainment zones that have relaxed rules would be an ideal solution to this, but that would mean that the government of Goa has to work on incentives for restaurants and clubs to move to these areas.
Morjim is one of the two places in Goa where Olive Ridley Turtles come to nest, and hence is a protected zone. There is also a small amount of local and migratory birds that visit the area. Even if this wasn’t enough, no amount of entertainment for tourists can ever compromise on the right to have a good night’s sleep for people who live in the area.
The biggest group of, and the best, ambassadors for any product are people. In this case, Goa and the restaurants who play music beyond permissible limits and time, cannot afford to alienate them. Solutions must be worked on. Regulatory and enforcement agencies need to convene on the drawing board. In the meanwhile, the government of Goa needs to ensure that this petition is but the last of its kind.
