Goa's Sunburn fest plays alternative venue tune

Traffic congestion and limited avenues to expand has forced organisers of Sunburn, a major music festival, to scout for alternative venues, a key promoter said.

Speaking to reporters here, promoter Harinder Singh said they would like to keep the festival in north Goa where most of the state's partying hotspots are located.

"We cannot grow here (Candolim). And it gets very congested. So we are scouting for alternative venues in north Goa," said Singh, after meeting state Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar.

The Sunburn music festival started in 2007 and has been held annually in December with thousands of youngsters and music lovers flocking from all over the country.

It has also attracted its share of controversy over issues related to licencing, civic chaos and drug abuse at the venue.

Singh said organising the Sunburn music festival would help promote Goa as a tourism destination.

"Festivals like this would be good for tourism in Goa," Singh said.