At Goa’s Sunburn Fest, dance, music, and random drug tests

North Goa SP Nidhin Valsan said: “All specialised units will remain deployed across the state, especially in the popular coastal belt areas in Anjuna and Calangute in North Goa and also at the venue of Sunburn Festival and its periphery. During patrolling, if anyone is suspected of smuggling narcotics or consuming drugs, we will be using handheld devices to check.”

“With these devices, there is no need to send the sample to the laboratory and wait for the report… we will immediately get the report and legal action shall be taken accordingly. In the mobile rapid screening test system, the swab sample is taken and the device (machine) is able to confirm if someone has consumed drugs,” Valsan said.

Police said more than 1,000 police personnel, including staff from reserve police force, will be deployed for smooth movement of traffic and crowd-control.

“Goa is a serene place. Police are here for the safety of the public. But, at the same time, people should follow the law of the land… Regarding noise pollution, as per the directions of the High Court, special teams have been deployed to ensure all norms are followed in the area,” Valsan said.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had last week said that Sunburn festival had been granted permission to play music only up to 10 pm. The state government, in its action plan for the festival submitted before the High Court of Bombay at Goa, had said that sub-committees comprising police officials, circle inspectors and officials of the Goa state pollution control board shall continuously monitor decibel levels using sound monitoring devices from six hours prior to the commencement of the festival.

Earlier this week, the High Court directed the state authorities to keep a vigil on all events in Goa, and not just the Sunburn Festival, to ensure that noise pollution rules are not flouted.

According to sources, a police team from Mapusa reached the venue of the festival at Vagator beach around 9.30 pm after receiving a complaint of music being played beyond permissible decibel levels. “One stage which was playing music exceeding the permissible decibel level was asked to lower the volume. The festival has permission to play music till 10 pm, so as per the norms, the music was stopped at 10 pm,” the source said.