‘Sunburn Goa 08’, the Asia's biggest musical beach party started on Saturday with conditional permission at Candolim beach, was stopped mid way on Sunday for breaking noise pollution norms.

The three-day Sunburn 2008 music beach festival had abrupt ending when the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) issued an order canceling the conditional NOC issued to the organizers of the festival.

North Goa Additional Collector Swapnil Nail said, “The festival was stopped at around 8.15 pm based on GSPCB report which cited violation of noise pollution levels.”

“As of now, the festival will not happen tomorrow,” he said.

Sources said that in his order to the police, the SDM said that GSPCB in its report to him said that festival organizers violated the sound decibel (dB) level, and since it is a disobedience of the provisional NOC, the NOC allowed to them stands canceled and hence the police is directed to end the festival.

According to sources, GSPCB in its report said that the organizers of the event were surpassing the music limit and playing at 83 sound decibels on Saturday.

Whereas the permission by the SDM was for just 55 sound decibels, the GSPCB maintained that the music could be played upto 65 decibels in Calangute and Candolim as it is a commercial region and this can be stretched upto 75 decibels.

However, even that was violated.

During morning, the music remained at 60 decibels, by 3.30 pm the decibel level went up to 83 near the entrance of the festival that was much above the permitted level.

In the meantime, top level sources told that Central intelligence agencies having probed all the arrangements made by the organizers have opined to the Goa police that it is not a safe arrangement, mainly from the beach side to avoid any entry of any terrorist attacks.

While issuing the conditional NOC to the organizers, the SDM and the police had clearly stated that they would have to obey 22 conditions and if any provision was breached then the order issuing the conditional NOC will be deemed to be revoked.

But, villagers said that soon after the police left music could be heard again.

The Sunburn festival, according to the organisers, is dedicated to the promotion of peace and global harmony, a theme which was expected to get public sympathy in view of the recent terror attack in Mumbai.