PANAJI
The move to hold the controversial yet popular electronic dance music (EDM) festival 'Sunburn' in South Goa may have stirred a raging controversy on the cusp of vociferous opposition from politicians, social activists and NGOs but the organisers are seemingly determined to host it in Quepem on the Quitol plateau where the Defence Expo was held in 2016.
Sources with knowledge of the matter told The Goan that the organisers have already sounded out key officials and politicians in the government of their intentions to hold Sunburn, which they flaunt as Asia's biggest and the world's 11th ranked music festival, at the Quitol plateau.
Around 12 lakh square meters of the land on Quitol Plateau belongs to the State-owned Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) of which 8 lakh square meters is clear. The balance 4 lakh square meters is under a dispute in the courts where a hotel company is staking claim that it was allocated the land in the past. The matter is still sub-judice.
However, no official was willing to comment officially on whether the Sunburn organisers have officially communicated to the government their decision to host the event at Quitol.
Curtorim MLA, Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, who heads GIDC as its chairman, meanwhile, declined to make any comment upfront. He said, he had no knowledge if the organisers had formally approached the Corporation with any such proposal for the use of the Quitol venue for Sunburn.
Lourenco also did not wish to comment on the controversial EDM festival moving to the South where a number of politicians, NGOs and social activists have joined the chorus to oppose it.
Despite hailing from Salcete, the political hotbed of South Goa and from where most of the opposition to 'Sunburn in South Goa' has erupted, Lourenco said he would rather wait and watch before commenting.
"The news has just broken. Wait for a couple of days. Let us see how it develops and what stand the government takes. I will comment only after that," Lourenco said.
