Panaji: The Goa government may not permit electronic dance music (EDM) festivals in the peak December season, Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar has said.

Tourism to the tiny western Indian state peaks during December 15 to January 15 when it holds the popular Sunburn festival.

The minister cited security concerns for the government plan to ban the festival during the period.

“We are seriously thinking not to allow mega events like EDM festivals between December 15 and January 15 every year as the state witnesses rush of tourists during that time who arrive here to usher in the New Year,” Parulekar told Press Trust of India.

Both Sunburn and Supersonic may now have to decide on a new date. Both the events were held between December 26 and 30 last year.

If the organizers want, they can have their event before December 15 or after January 15, when the peak time for rush of tourists is not there, the minister added.

Sunburn and VH1 Supersonic are held annually in Goa in the last week of December. The state police had earlier objected to these events pointing out that it creates pressure on the law and order machinery.

Parulekar said the state-level permission panel held its first meeting on August 30 and expressed reservations on allowing the music festivals during the peak season.

The government is of the view that it is not possible to allow two EDM festivals at the same time from the security point of view, he added.

Both the organizers have already moved an application seeking permission to host the festival this year.

Sunburn is a commercial EDM Festival held in Vagator, a beach and party destination in Goa. It is Asia’s largest music festival. The festival is an amalgamation of music, entertainment, food and shopping. In 2009, CNN ranked it as one of the Top 10 Festivals in world.

The Festival is organized by Percept company owned by Shailendra Singh. Spread over four days, the festival has multiple stages with artists playing simultaneously.

Electronic music parties are not new to Goa. Free parties with live DJ’s mixing and food stalls started in late 1980s and continued through the 1990s and into the early 2000s.

Entertainers played Goa trance, Psychedelic trance, and Techno at beaches such as Vagator, Anjuna and Arambol. Commercialized events such as Sunburn arrived in Goa when mainstream EDM gained more widespread popularity within India.

In 2007, Nikhil Chinapa; the godfather of dance music in India, organized the first International Dance Music Festival in Goa. Sunburn Goa 2007 was sponsored by Smirnoff and took place on December 28–29 at Candolim Beach.

The following year, it was held exactly a month after the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. The festival was themed Electric Circus and was held on two main stages: “Banyan Tree” for Trance acts and “Circus Stage” for House music. The event also included a flea market and beach volleyball games.

Sunburn helps grow the craze of Electronic Dance Music in teenagers and it also shows a new modern trend evolving in colleges throughout India.