Vagaotor: A day after the Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral assured action against Sunburn Club, the Anjuna-Caisua Village Panchayat said that it had given no permission or licence to operate the premise for New year party at Ozran beach.
Anjuna Caisua Vagator villagers are up in arms as the private hotelier changed the Vagator beach name as Sunburn beach club and restricted movement of locals on the beach.
This is the same structure for which was called as Waters and later Bombay Adda and the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority had issued demolition notice in June 2019 and had directed collector to demolish it.
The place is located in survey No. 213/18 of Ozran Vagator and demolition was ordered after it was learnt that the said structure is unauthorized along with illegal hill cutting and hill slope filing.
Not only the structure is illegal, the premise which was sealed by the GCZMA was opened with approval from the authority for removal of perishable goods but intead a New Year party was organised on December 31.
Anjuna-Caisua Sarpanch Savio Almeida told this website that the panchayat has granted any permission for any party.
“How can we allow such a party? We have issued demolition orders and even GCZMA has issued. Now the authorities have to implement it. We do not have the powers, the politicians use the panchayats as punching bags,” he lamented.
He said the revenue authorities failed to implement the direction of the GCZMA resulting in the owner continuing with further illegal construction.
Alleging CM’s blessing to the hotelier in the renaming of Vagator beach to Sunburn beach, Siolim MLA Vinod Palyekar has threatened to take law in own hands if the access to the beach is blocked to the locals.
“The owner has blocked the traditional access to the beach with the blessings of the Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant. Everybody knows how this government is hand in glove with the Sunburn organizers. Even during the pandemic they wanted to hold the event. I am surprised how can a Goan beach be renamed to Sunburn beach,” he said.
He added that the Chief Minister has given directions to the police to not act on the complaint.
“The cops are not acting as the owner has blessings of chief minister,” he said.
Palyekar further said that if the government does not act in two days the locals will be forced to take law in their hands.
“The locals have first right over the beach and if that is blocked and illegal construction comes up. The youth will be forced to take law in their own hands and the responsibility would be on the CM,” he said.
