TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Under Secretary Home Neetal Amonkar may like to do a quick refresher course on AM and PM timings especially when it comes to that tricky 12 O’clock timing. Such mistakes on official communication to casino companies, could have caused extreme embarrassment to the government had it not been for “cooperative” casino owners.
She goofed up, not once, but twice in her order/s asking casinos to stop operations on October 2, in paying homage to Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
The first order giving directions to casino operators restricts all operations from 12 am to 12 pm “midnight”. Casinos could have well decided to take it to mean 12 am (midnight) to 12 pm (noon) on October 2.
Realizing her mistake on the timing, Under Secretary Neetal Amonkar soon issued another order; but this time too, the order had another mistake. She mentioned the casinos would be closed from 12-midnight to 12-midnight on October 2, which if taken literally means that the Casinos wouldn’t have to shut at all.
The Past President of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) Ralph D’Souza has welcomed the decision but, added government should have been pre-warned operators. “It is a good decision but the government should have issued pre-warning because there are some who come down to Goa especially to go to casinos”
A senior member of the Casino industry who did not want to be named due to possible repercussions said “It is unfortunate that, we get a notice at last minute after we have accepted bookings. On one hand the PM invites investors with a red carpet and on the other States harass the investors”. On one hand our ministers spend crores of rupees to go abroad to promote Goa and on the other we deny tourists like this”.
