If the State government has permitted the Sunburn EDM festival to play music till midnight then why the hell the authorities are stopping our Goan cultural festivals, programmes and weddings at 10 pm sharp? If a wedding gets a little then the drama of the police starts and they act like gundas to stop the function. The fact is that the government is not benefiting from any source of income through weddings but receives a huge chunk from events which are benefiting outsiders, the agents and contractors, as they give their shares of lakhs of rupees to every single department.
A wedding comes once in our lives and people spend lakhs of rupees on hiring a band, catering, hall, etc, to make this day a memorable one. But due to the restriction on playing music, the bands play only three sets and pack up their set. Goans are always taken for a ride by the State government.
The sound at a wedding hall is not much louder than the sound of private beach parties and the Sunburn festival. If the government is permitting Sunburn then it should also permit Goan weddings to go on till at least 11 pm.
The government should know how the people of Goa celebrate their weddings. We love music, dance and parties, and this is a tourism-centric State where people come to enjoy after spending much money on tickets, hotels and happy holidays.
The State government, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira should take a call and allow Goan weddings, cultural and traditional programmes and Goan festivals, where sound/music can be played till at least 11 pm. Laws are made equal for all citizens and are not different for only a select few.
