A citizens’ group on Tuesday mounted a sharp at tack on the State government over its decision to allow a high er-capacity casino vessel to op erate in the Mandovi River and to extend offshore casino licenc es until March 31, 2027, calling the move a betrayal of repeated public assurances. Addressing a well-attended public meeting, members of the group said their opposi tion was not ‘election rhetoric’ but part of a sustained public movement demanding the re moval of casino vessels from Goa’s rivers. They accused suc cessive governments of back tracking on promises to relo cate offshore casinos from the Mandovi and Chapora rivers, al leging that political will has re peatedly yielded to commercial interests. The group has filed applica tions under the Right To Infor mation (RTI) Act seeking de tails of clearances granted for the new casino vessel, signal ling a legal and procedural chal lenge to what they described as opaque decision-making. Former Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) council lor Patricia Pinto accused one casino operator of mislead ing authorities by allegedly under-reporting waste genera tion. She pointed to what she termed a glaring discrepancy between submissions made to the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) and records maintained by the CCP. “They declared only 850 kg of waste to the Goa State Pol lution Control Board in January 2025, while records from the CCP show over 39,000 kg. They are clearly fooling the system,” she charged. “In 2013, the BJP government had taken a policy deci sion to relocate off-shore casino vessels from the Mandovi River. But the government is renewing their licences on the pretext that it had not found an alternate site to shift them,” Adv Albertina Almeida said, questioning why no viable site has been identified more than a decade later. Bailancho Saad convenor Sabina Martins warned of what she described as deepening social damage linked to casino operations. “We don’t want casinos. They are destroying the capital city,” she said, announcing a signature campaign to be submitted to the Chief Minister. “Gambling addiction is harder to detect than alcoholism or drug abuse, yet it causes deep distress in families. We have seen cases where casino-linked debt collection led to intimidation of families, including threats to children,” Martins said. Martins disclosed that her NGO received the first com plaint against casinos from children when bouncers reached to the residence of a businessman at Margao to recover money. The bouncers threatened the business man’s wife and children. The family approached the NGO but later declined to come out in the public due to stigma, she said. Martins further alleged that casinos have contributed to rising crime, trafficking and sexual abuse inside casinos. “Drug trafficking and prostitution are on the rise in Pan jim, with alleged involvement of sons of politicians,” activ ist Rui Ferreira stated. The citizens’ group said it would intensify its campaign in the coming weeks, demanding accountability, trans parency and stricter oversight of casino operations in the State, even as the government pushes ahead with licence renewals and expanded capacities on Goa’s rivers.
Panjim awareness meet turns into indictment of casino policy in Goa
