Goa Forward President Vijai Sardesai while addressing media at Goemkar Ghor said that the order to shut down all music after 10 pm in the State has caused distress in the society today and threatens the cultural, social and religious ethos of Goa and Goans. Music is part of Goem Goemkar and Goemkarponn. Shutting down all forms of music after 10 pm is killing Goem, Goemkar , Goemkarpomm said Sardesai.
Vijai Sardesai said that “The first question that needs to be asked is who is to be blamed for this order? Only a small fraction of shacks, restaurants and hotels across the State create a nuisance by playing loud music. People have been calling 100 and reporting the violations but the police who have a nexus with such establishments, have been ignoring the complaints. Someone from the department informs the restaurants. After they lower the music, the police arrive. It is the failure of the administration for not acting on these individual complaints and reining in on these few rogue cops who are hand in glove with the violators. Because of a few people, everyone has to suffer. Goans should not blame the courts nor the petitioners for the High Court order. It is the government and the few establishments who have been violating the law, that are to be blamed.
Goa Forward President Vijai Sardesai said that The government should come with a law to regulate music at night. If the government can lobby with the central government authorities for changes in the Coastal Regulatory Zone laws for making exceptions to Goa, why cant the Goa government lobby for exceptions in the laws related to playing music after 10 pm?
The BJP government has failed to put up a reasonable argument before the Honourable High Court. There needs to be a distinction between sound or music played at commercial sites, private events like weddings, cultural events like shigmo, carnival etc and religious events like zatra and midnight masses. The government should have prayed for relief that private events like weddings and annual cultural and religious events have to be exempted said Sardesai.
Goa Forward President Vijai Sardesai Quesitoned where does the government draw the line when it comes to noise pollution? If all music has to stop after 10 pm because it creates noise pollutions, under which rule are other sources of noise pollution like trains, planes and factories are exempted from noise pollution beyond 10 pm. Will the government dare to stop such operations like coal handling in MPT after 10 pm? Similarly, can there be a blanket ban on noise pollution? If so, why bother with ambient air monitors outside MPT. Government should have a blanket ban on coal activities during the day when the pollution levels in Vasco are the highest in the day.
The order against playing music after 10 pm will adversely impact the economy of the State. Take an example of a wedding reception. Nearly 200 people gain employment and that too with a good pay for every wedding reception. The jobs include waiters, cooks, musicians, photographers, car drivers, decorators, florists etc. The order will reduce the duration for a wedding from 4 hours to less than 2 hours; This will kill the wedding industry because why will people pay lakhs of rupees for a 1 or 2 hour event. Similarly, the economy and employment surrounding annual dances, parades, festivals etc will also suffer said Goa Forward President Vijai Sardesai.
Goa Forward President Vijai Sardesai said that there are many solutions to ensuring that music can be played beyond 10 pm while ensuring that the fundamental rights of citizens living in the surrounding areas are not violation. Factories have to install ambient air monitors to ensure that the pollution does not cross the permissible limit. Commercial establishments like hotels and shacks, wedding halls and other venues can be made to install online decible meters so that noise pollution levels can be monitored 24 hours a day.
When it comes to any form of environmental balance, there has to be a distinction between need and greed. The government cannot deny the needs of many because of the greed of a few said Goa Forward President Vijai Sardesai.
