Hours after the High Court of Bombay at Goa fixed Writ Petition 2992/2023 for admission and grant of interim relief against organisers of the Sunburn festival for non-payment of fees to Anjuna Comunidade, party music wafted through the coastline of Anjuna and Vagator – the show was on.
As the office of the North Goa Administrator of Comunidade closed for the evening, no payment was made and gauncars of Anjuna Comunidade were forced to file a police complaint at the Anjuna Police Station that the show was being held without their NOC.
“I have been told that the organisers are at the North Goa Administrator of Comunidade office to pay the fees. I will be able to confirm later,” said Domingos Pereira, president of Anjuna Comunidade.
Anjuna gauncar Roysal D’Souza has through WP 2992/2023 prayed “for a writ of mandamus, order or direction thereby directing the respondent authorities to evict respondent No 6 (organisers of Sunburn) from comunidade land...” or alternatively “for an order directing respondent no 6 to immediately make payment of ground rent of an amount of Rs 2,43,14,607 (2.43 cr) to respondent No 4” (the Communidade of Anjuna).
Incidentally, all permissions given to organise the event by other government agencies are provisional until the NOC is obtained from the Comunidade of Anjuna.
“Someone from Sunburn came to the office of the North Goa Administrator of Comunidade with a cheque but the administrator refused to accept it on grounds that it needed to be a demand draft,” stated a source present.
Sunburn organiser Harindra Singh was seen at the High Court at around 2 pm but with the fee not being paid till 6 pm and the show having already started, gauncars of Anjuna Comunidade filed the complaint at Anjuna police station.
“The organisers cannot think that they can make a joke of the Supreme Court and High Court. If they think everyone is purchasable, we are going to prove them wrong,” stated D’Souza.
Numerous attempts late in the evening to confirm with Pereira and North Goa Administrator of Comunidades Sagar Gawde whether the money was paid – before uploading the story – proved futile. “I am waiting in office,” said the treasurer of the Anjuna Comunidade before disconnecting the phone.
Unaware of the behind the scene wrangling, the atmosphere was festive at the venue with ladies with fancy outfits and their partners finding their way into the venue. Goa police had made elaborate traffic arrangements, controlling the flow of traffic at key junctions leading to the venue.
“We came early to avoid the traffic rush and get a nice place to park our vehicle. We will be entering closer towards sunset as it is too hot now,” said Santosh, as he purchased beer from a stall doing brisk business near the venue.
For a group of first timers from Mumbai, the festival is “a chance to see firsthand the craze of attending a party of such a magnitude. We have been for parties in Goa before but never for one as big as this,” said Anisha.
As the sun began to set and the people at the gates increased, the words, ‘the show must go on’, kept reverberating to the trance of the evening.
