PANAJI
A mother, who quit her teaching job to raise her autistic child, is not only tackling challenges of parenting but also the relentless onslaught of booming music that vibrates through her home.
Once a quiet village, Vagator has turned into a den of loud music. The ordeal of Janie Crasto, a former head teacher, is just one of several stories that The Goan will share, throwing light on problems faced by the residents including small local businesses.
Crasto, who among a handful of villagers is spearheading the campaign against noise pollution, has found herself entangled in legal and emotional struggle.
With around 50-60 clubs dotting the beach belt, the mother complained that each plays music turned up to the max.
Moreover, a new club, merely three meters from her doorstep, has been disrupting her son’s sleep and the environment that he needs.
While children otherwise are in the school at 8:30 am, filled with fresh energy and excitement; for Crasto’s nine-year-old, this is the time he usually drifts off to sleep, worn out by the previous night’s turmoil.
“Today, he fell asleep at 8:30 am. He remained awake throughout the night. At times, when he retires to bed at dusk or early, his sleep is disturbed by the noise and he wakes up at noon or even later,” she said, alleging that music volume exceeds 100 decibels resulting in “vibration of heartbeats and the entire house all through dusk to dawn.”
The reason for the disturbed sleep pattern is not solely disability but thumping beats from the clubs located at a stone’s throw distance from her residence. This particular club, which is located three meters from her house, opened this mid-December.
Crasto revealed the heart-wrenching reality of the problems, aggravated due to the loud music. “Music is not good for him (her son). He gets convulsions when the music is played loud... Tourists flock for fun and nightlife but the collateral damage on the lives of the residents, particularly the children, elders, and sick has become a norm owing to the loud music,” she lamented.
Not her child alone, Crasto and her husband also suffer from loss of sleep, stress, and fatigue.
Stating that her husband also left his well-paying job on a cruise to start a small bakery from home to assist her in handling family responsibilities, sleepless nights are now resulting in tired mornings for him. “We have orders to fulfill but how do we manage with sleep disturbances,” she questioned.
Her 32-year-old cousin sibling, living next door, also suffers from seizures but barely any authority has clamped down on such event organizers to give a permanent solution to the aggrieved residents.
Crasto also recalled that despite one of the gram sabha meetings resolving to revoke licenses of clubs misusing their permissions, no action has been taken.
She alleged that several complaints to the authorities including the police have fallen on deaf ears. She also declined to accept the government theory that only indoor shows are being held while the outdoors is restricted.
