If it appears that the government is reconsidering their stand on refusing to grant licenses for both the electronic dance music festivals to be held in December, then that would not be right. For starters, irrespective of their standing in the world entertainment space, none of those brands are bigger than Brand Goa. They need us, not the other way around.
Tourism Minister, Dilip Parulekar had earlier stated that neither festival should be held during the peak season “ December 15 to January 15. That was the right decision and it should stay that way. Rumblings out of Calangute, with the local MLA stating that he is in talks with both organisers, could lead to assumptions that there might be a shift in thinking. The reason why the stand was taken on not hosting the events during the peak season, was because of the load on the infrastructure in Goa. That hasn’t changed. Even holding just the one festival would still be too much to handle. The organisers can talk about moving out of Goa and going to other parts of the country, but they know only too well that what Goa offers cannot be matched or surpassed elsewhere. It’s time to play hardball with them, but can the government do that?
