No EDM festival in Goa until dues are cleared: Minister

Panaji, Dec 17 (IANS) Organisers of electronic dance music festival Sunburn Klassique owe Rs. 1 crore in back-dues to the Goa government and the festival will not be allowed to be held unless the franchise pays the dues, Goa's Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said on Tuesday."Unless they pay the dues of Rs. 1 crore, we will not permit them to have the event in Goa," Ajgaonkar told reporters at the state Secretariat on Tuesday.Ajgaonkar said that the state economy was hinged on the tourism industry and electronic dance music festivals were required to boost the tourism industry.Sunburn Klassique is a two-day EDM event, which is scheduled to be held in the Vagator beach village in North Goa on December 23-24. The dues which Ajgaonkar refers to are back-payments which are yet to be made to the state government for various services extended to the Sunburn Klassique organisers, including fees for police deployment.
--IANS maya/vin