The Goa government has decided to ban loud music after midnight, rolling back an earlier law that allowed music up to 6am on certain days, and plunging the plans of hundreds of hotels, resorts and party venues into jeopardy ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, the peak tourist season for the coastal state.
Earlier, loudspeakers on notified festive days, after taking permission, were allowed till 6am. As per the latest decision, it will now be allowed till 12am.
On ordinary days, loud music has to be turned off at 10pm.
The government also reduced the number of notified festive days or special days.
On Thursday evening, it issued a corrigendum to its original notification, issued on February 10, 2022, which permitted the relaxation during 17 days of the year, when environment laws allow such relaxation in timings to play music only during 15 festive days of a calendar year.
The move came two weeks after the Bombay high court in Goa asked the government to ensure that noise pollution rules were not flouted by late-night parties.
The decision sparked protests among hotel, club and resort owners, who feared mounting losses in the winter tourist season, when hundreds of thousands of foreign and domestic travellers descend on Goa for its vibrant nightlife and beach parties that often stretch until dawn – especially around Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
“Goa is a state that is known to be receptive to tourists and ensuring that they do not go away unhappy,” said Nandan Kudchadkar, the owner of a popular club in north Goa.
“This year too we intend to keep it that way. Hundreds of parties have been planned all across the tourist belt and we hope that the government will come up with a solution for this,” he added.
BJP MLA Michael Lobo said: “We will definitely find a solution to this. It is a question of Goa’s reputation as a destination of tourists and we do not want to disappoint them.”
