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Remembering Aquino Braganca (b. 6 April 1924), who fought for freedom
of the former Portuguese colonies in Africa. An online tribute
http://aquinobraganca.wordpress.com/ (includes many historical
references, some photographs and documents)
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http://www.goanews.com/4aug00.htm
As a CM, Sardinha was for casinos.
Sardinha plans real casinos
Sandesh Prabhudesai
4 August 2000
Targeting high spending tourists from all over the World, Goa government is
seriously considering the proposal of allowing full-fledged offshore casinos as
well as golf course in spite of local opposition.
Though he is not in favour of full-fledged casinos on the land, chief
minister Francisco Sardinha does not mind such casinos off the shore. "We will
give the tourists what they want", he says.
Disclosing his policy to attract high spending tourists rather than
depending all the time on the 'cheap tourists' Goa gets from charters or
otherwise, Sardinha appears determined to go ahead with the facilities demanded
for 'upmarket tourists'.
Though there is no concrete proposal for any full-fledged offshore casino,
Sardinha also discloses that he has already received one proposal each in
writing for a golf course and a race course.
Several environmental organisations as well as women organisations have
however already opposed these proposals in the past. Incidentally, Sardinha's
coalition partner – the Bharatiya Janata Party – has also vehemently opposed
both casinos and golf courses.
But Sardinha is bent upon getting these proposals passed in the cabinet
rather than going for public debate or inviting objections from general Goans.
"You reach nowhere with such methods. Instead of that, my ministers will ask
their people and then the cabinet would decide about it", he says.
He does not mind discussing the proposals with the Travel and Tourism
Association of Goa and the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, but not sure
whether he would also take various NGOs into confidence in this regard.
Goa has already amended the Goa Public Gambling Act, 1976 twice before,
once in 1992 allowing electronic amusement games like roulette and poker etc in
various five star hotels and then in 1996 to allow full-fledged offshore
casinos with actual table games, during the Congress regime.
But following a state-wide movement waged by the NGOs and then opposition
including the BJP as well as the local Church, the Congress government dropped
the proposal for full-fledged casinos, but amended it in February 1997 to allow
only electronic games on board the vessels.
It had even granted two licences to the Frank Shipping Company running a
catamaran service from Bombay to Goa and Ramada Renaissance Resorts. While the
catamaran service closed down soon after that, Ramada is reportedly still
paying the rental while its ship is likely to start floating this year.
If Sardinha is determined to also allow actual table games on board the
vessels, then he may have go back to the 1996 amendment, which stated that the
act "authorises table games and gaming on board in vessels offshore, subject to
conditions".
Sardinha's latest budget has hiked the license fee for electronic casinos
in the five star hotels to Rs five lakh for a set of 20 machines while it is Rs
50 lakh for the offshore electronic casinos, besides the security deposit
chargeable to one year's recurring fee, payable at the time of granting
licences as well as renewal.
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