TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Asserting that the cancer caused by the Casino-SEZ mafia will affect every Goan, irrespective of caste and religion, Congress MLA Reginaldo Lourenco on Monday called upon the people of Goa to wake up and fight the casinos in the State.
Addressing the media, Reginaldo said that Goans will become foreigners in their own land if corrective measures are not taken immediately against the Casino-SEZ mafia, saying this mafia has already taken over three-fourth of the local property in Tiracol village.
“Till date there is no gaming commission to check the illegal business conducted by the casinos in Goa. No one knows the real daily gaming revenue earned by both off-shore and on-shore casinos. The government is clueless on the actual employment provided to Goans. Most of the casinos employ non Goans especially from Nepal, Britain, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Lebanon etc., in high profile jobs, whereas Goans are absorbed for unskilled work. Talented Goans working in the casinos are harassed and eventually they quit in frustration,” he said, while accusing certain politicians for being hand in gloves with the casino-SEZ coalition.
He said the people of Panjim have pinned their last hope on the CCP Mayor Surendra Furtado as they have been ditched by their own MLA Manohar Parriakr.
Reginaldo also took exception to MPT Chairman P Pandiyan’s statement that the Port Trust has received two proposals for starting floating casinos at MPT. “I think Pandiyan needs to first get enlightened about the fact that catastrophic damage in terms of environmental and social aspect that has happened from off-shore casinos stationed at Panjim and the overall beauty of the capital city,” he added.
