THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
Tourism Minister Babu Azgaonkar on Wednesday said that the government would "not let Sunburn organisers get away with the dues they owe the government."
Speaking on the sidelines of a Carnival press conference, Azgaonkar said that while Goa wanted Electronic Dance Music festivals (EDMs), we "do not want people who cheat."
"We will not let Sunburn organisers get away with what they owe us. We will get them to clear their dues anyhow," he said, adding that the recently concluded Sunburn festival was "Sunburn 2", and that the government had not allowed Sunburn to take place for three years because of media pressure.
"We've brought back the festival because there was a demand for it...Goans wanted it," he said.
Ajgaonkar said that this time, the government had taken Rs 56 lakhs as an advance from the Sunburn Klassique organisers, and would be collecting the balance at a later date.
When 'The Goan' interviewed the organiser of Sunburn Klassique last month, Harindra Singh had said that the government owed the organisers more than the organisers owed the government. He had said that the organisers were "having talks with the government" and that "things would be finalised soon."
Singh had also said that the organisers had asked the government to settle their dues and return the balance amount to them. He had said that the government had not put any conditions on the organisers before issuing an NOC for "Sunburn Klassique."
He said, "The government has realised that the state needs Sunburn, for whatever reasons. They want us to be here, and that's why we're making a comeback."
Sunburn Klassique was held on a small scale this year on February 23 and 24.
