Goa nightclub fire: Locals recount night of horror and violations that led to it

“I am still shivering… I could not sleep the whole night,’’ said Ami Manocha, a witness who finds it hard to recount the night of the fire that claimed 25 lives in a nightclub in Goa on Saturday (December 6, 2025).  

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Mr Manocha, a businessman from New Delhi, who has made Goa his home, was supposed to attend the Bollywood musical night party being held in the club on Saturday, but went to another place with friends. “It was just a stroke of good luck,” he said. 

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The businessman from Delhi met some survivors who managed to run out of the dance floor that caught fire. “I met a woman who ran to safety, but her two sisters died. It is incredibly sad. Whether tourists or labourers, they are human beings.” Mr Minocha spoke of a family from Jharkhand that had lost a young man who had joined the nightclub as a housekeeping worker two days ago.  

He claimed that the survivors had told him that the club management had been negligent. “They told me that there were no fire extinguishers, no help and not even a safety announcement. The only noises that could be heard were the shrill voices of people pleading for help,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the Arpora gram panchayat (GP) said the State government is responsible for the incident, while leaders like MLA Michael Lobo said the local GP is at fault.  

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Arpora Panchayat president Roshan Redkar told reporters on Sunday that the State government had overruled the panchayat decision to demolish the club. “We had found that there were irregular constructions in violation of building and safety norms. The panchayat officials had conducted an inspection and issued orders for demolition. But, the owners appealed against the order to the Directorate of Panchayats. Under the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, the Directorate has quasi-judicial powers and can stay an order issued by elected bodies in the panchayats,” he said. 

MLA Micheal Lobo, however, alleged that the gram panchayat had “lied” to the people that they had issued a licence only for the restaurant. He claimed the local body has issued a permission for a restaurant and a nightclub. “The panchayat had no power to issue a nightclub licence as it was the job of the excise department. The owners could get a stay from the directorate only because the GP did not follow the due procedure,’’ Mr Lobo told The Hindu.  

But local people say that no government authority or elected representative can claim innocence. Glen Fernandes, a member of Calangute Collective, a volunteer group fighting for environmental conservation, said the land on which Birch, the nightclub, operates is a salt pan fish farm.  

“It cannot be used for non-agricultural purposes. Under Goan law, it can neither be sold nor bought. Secondly, it is built in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone norms. Thirdly, it has also violated several building bylaws. The compound has a five-metre wall constructed without a required setback or a pedestrian walkway. When poor people do such things, they face demolition, but when the rich people do it, they are ignored,’’ he said. According to Mr Fernandes, the original owners of the agricultural land, including Pradeep Amonkar and Sunil Divker, will file a set of complaints against the club owners with the State government on Monday.  

The club is 20 years old, and the ownership has changed hands more than once. The latest permissions were given by the Arpora GP in 2023. A request for renewal of permission for this year is pending. “The police had summoned Mr Redkar for questioning on Sunday. He gave a written statement,” a police officer said on the condition of anonymity.