Minister suggests bringing Goa’s floating casinos to land

As River Mandovi’s floating casinos continue to search for an alternate waterway, a Goa minister has put forward an idea: Why not bring them to land?

Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai is pushing to shift the casino vessels in the state to be shifted to a suitable location on land. Sardesai, who is also the president of the Goa Forward Party, was quoted by the Times of India as saying, “We want to remove all casinos from the river and I am personally pushing to move them from there to land.”

The state government announced several weeks ago that it has extended the deadline for the casinos to wrap up their operations on the Mandovi river to September 30. The new deadline matches an earlier promise the government made to the casino operators—Delta Corp, Goa Coastal Resorts and Recreation, Highstreet Cruises and Entertainment, Golden Peace Infrastructure and Delta Pleasure Cruise Company—immediately following the recently held elections.

The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court also allowed Golden Globe Hotels Pvt. Ltd. to launch MV Lucky Seven on the river—a move that Sardesai opposed.