Team Herald
PANJIM: The decision by the Modi government to pull out Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes hit casinos in the State. It also resulted in long lines at petrol pumps. The general sentiment of people interested in visiting casinos was that they would wait and see how the situation evolved.
A Goa-based trader from Delhi smiled and said it was too early to say how the situation would evolve. Standing outside the office of a casino he said he had spent three hours in the casino. He refused to give his name bust said, “The people left in a hurry and the few who were there kept answering calls from their families suggesting they leave the facility. It is pretty dead inside.” He believed that in the days ahead the number of gamblers would decrease unless there was clarity as to how the winnings would be handled.
Staff at the counter at Deltin Jaqk said they were following regular procedures and had not been intimated of any change by the management. For any one bringing in more than Rs 50,000 the pan card details had to be provided.
At Deltin Royal, Fainna Fernandes the manager at the counter said payments were being accepted by credit card or in Rs 100 notes. With regards to winnings, she said a decision as to how the payment ought to be made would be taken by the gaming manager in the casino.
Dhannanjay Khanna along with his parents from Mumbai said they were aware of the announcement but since they wanted to just check the place out it did not make a difference. Jimit Shah and his wife from Mumbai were visiting the various casinos and intended to then decide if they wanted to go in. Jimit said, “Yes, I am keen but no one really knows how the winnings will be handled, I am keen so let’s see.”
Casino Pride was accepting payment only by card and the manager said they could be open only until midnight but that decision could change when the appointed hour arrived. The management had not communicated anything till late night.
At the petrol pump near the casino, a long line of cars was visible. Gaurish Dalvi the owner said he was accepting several payments via credit card. It was a norm earlier and he expected this to increase. Car owners like Tony Fernandes said with the limits of withdrawing money now in force made sense to fill now and ride out the storm of the next 24 hours with no ATMs working.
Reacting to the move, Petrol Dealers’ Association of Goa President Paresh Joshi said, “It is quite chaotic at petrol pumps as people are queuing up and filling petrol worth Rs 100 and offering the petrol station Rs 500 currency notes. For the next four days this chaos will continue. We have run out of Rs 100 currency notes. It is no doubt a brilliant move by Prime Minister Modi to ferret out black money.”
Similarly the Managing Director of Ulhas Jewellers, Mr Vikram Verlekar said, “It is a magnificent move by Modi to bring out black money. I am sure our business will be affected too but it is a good move for the country at large.”
Foreign tourists expressed fear at the situation. Marco Hutteman and Peter Brand from Norway appeared worried outside an ATM near their hotel. Hutteman said “Our major worry is how do we pay the taxis and the shack owners? We have a wedding to attend in Delhi and came over to Goa to enjoy and now this ruling has caught us on the wrong foot.”
