State Proposes Aguada Bay As Alternate Location to Casinos in Goa, Aguada Fort to Support Land Operations

Casinos in Goa
  • Profile picture
  • PG News July 2, 2015
  • 2 Minutes Read

The Goa casino imbroglio continues, with the state BJP govt now offering the casinos, a new location at Aguada bay. The govt has suggested that the casinos could use the iconic Aguada fort itself as the infrastructure center for their land operations with permission from the govt.

At a private event in Panaji, Dilip Parulekar, Tourism Minister told the IANS that; “We are in the process of relocating the casinos by the end of the year to the Aguada bay. They have to move out of the Mandovi river. The bay near Aguada fort is the best option.”

The historic 17th century Aguada fort was one of the key coastal points for the Portuguese and served as a prison for Indian freedom fighters during the Independence struggle. It houses one of the oldest lighthouses in India and there still exists a jail in its premises.

This jail would soon be vacated, with the prisoners being shifted to new premises 20 kms away.

Parulekar said that the casino operators could use the vacant fort as a hub for the infrastructure and had told the casinos to approach the govt for the same.

The BJP govt is under great pressure from the opposition Congress and the anti-casino faction, with both accusing the BJP of reneging on its 2012 election manifesto of removing the casinos from the Mandovi River.

The agreement in 2013 with casinos to relocate is set to end by the end of this year. The casinos have expressed willingness to move and only asked for adequate infrastructure to function. The state govt had picked four locations, Aguada Bay, Chapora, Sal and Zuari rivers for the relocation and now has zeroed in on the Aguada. The govt had also stressed that licenses would not be renewed, unless casinos relocated. Despite this, the Congress and the anti-casino faction have continued to accuse the BJP of favoring the casinos.

It is now to be seen how the situation develops, with all three sections – the state govt, the casinos and the anti-casinos involved.

Keep following this story as it develops, rights here on PokerGuru.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Top Online Poker Rooms

Top
PokerGuru