Pernem home for cultural artistes, don’t want Sunburn here, says MLA

Panaji: Plans to host the Sunburn EDM festival at Dhargalim appear to have encountered fresh headwinds, with Pernem MLA Pravin Arlekar objecting to the move. While the promoters of Sunburn, Spacebound Web Labs Pvt Ltd, obtained permission from Delta Corp to host the event on their private property, Arlekar said he was not kept in the loop when the decision was taken.

Accompanied by his supporters, Arlekar said Sunburn goes against the local culture and has the potential to lead youth astray. “Sunburn is not part of our culture. Those bringing in Sunburn should take it to the coastline. It started at Calangute, then Anjuna, and then Vagator, and now they should take it to Mandrem,” the Pernem MLA said.

Arlekar said that while he has no problems with Sunburn being hosted in Goa, he feels that the festival should be held along the beach belt and not in his constituency. “I am part of govt, so they should have told me before permitting it. What people want should be done. The CM should have called and told me that Sunburn is coming here, but CM has not said anything to me. Nobody has spoken to me about Sunburn, and even if they call me, I will tell them that I am not for Sunburn at Dhargalim,” said Arlekar.

Local leaders from Pernem have questioned Arlekar’s role in BookMyShow’s announcement. Arlekar said he received numerous calls and visits from locals expressing concern over BookMyShow’s plans. BookMyShow, owned and operated by Big Tree Entertainment Pvt Ltd, has been the exclusive ticketing partner for what is touted as Asia’s largest electronic music festival.

“We want to give good teaching to our youth, and we do not want to spoil the local culture. Pernem is the home for cultural artists, and we don’t want disco here to spoil our youth,” Arlekar said.

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