Dear Sam, I have attended Matanhy Memorial Lecture in Institute Menezes Braganza Hall, and I know what Prema Singh Bindra has displayed and talked for audience.. Vishnu Wagh also talked as main speaker, but unfortunately left soon after his lecture. She is a great Leader and I admire her vision for Goa. although she is not a Goan, we need reporters or journalists like her.
Stephen Dias --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On 2 November 2015 at 11:45, Sam Furtado <sfrainbo...@gmail.com> wrote: > Now Read this….. if you haven’t yet??? > > > > *Gambling away Goa’s brand value* > > > > TOI (*Vivek Menezes,TNN | Nov 1, 2015, 02.00 AM IST)* > > > > *Searching questions—and serious reasons to worry about Goa's > reputation—came one after another during Prerna Singh Bindra's Mathany > Saldanha memorial lecture in Panaji last week.* > > *One of India's best known environmental journalists and campaigners, > Bindra shocked her audience by displaying the top results of an internet > search for Goa: casinos, gambling, and prostitution.** She projected > images from her phone of what she had seen after getting off the plane at > Dabolim: blanket advertising for casinos. She asked, "Is this what Goa > stands for? Sin city?"* > > *Take a late evening walk along the beautiful waterfront that was once the > pride of old Panaji and the truth in Bindra's words becomes quickly > apparent. At the same spot where the Indian flag was raised for the first > time in 1961, garish neon lights now flash endless images of roulette > wheels and blackjack cards. The ancient Mandovi estuary, gateway to > thousands of years of civilization in Goa, is egregiously dominated by > mammoth, allegedly "offshore" casinos, conspicuously flouting the city ban > on advertising billboards with huge screens broadcasting non-stop images of > gambling on their sides.* > > *"Is this the state you want?" Bindra asked her audience last week. **But > the paradoxical truth about casinos in Goa is that no one actually wants > them. They cling on like leeches, continuing to exist solely because this > so-called "industry" always subverts democracies, wherever it pierces its > hooks anywhere in the world. Its nature is to direct pipelines of highly > dubious cash directly into the pockets of political parties, politicians > and policemen ready to be corrupted into resisting the people's will.** > It happened in Macau and Nevada. Now it is Goa's turn.* > > > *But much worse than Macau and Nevada, there is no place in the world > where casinos and gambling wreak havoc so comprehensively unregulated as in > Goa—the operators are left to do exactly what they want. There is no > Gambling Act. There are no controls. There is no oversight, and thus no > incentive for any operator to stick to any rules whatsoever. It is > inconceivable that any government in the world should so disgracefully > abdicate its responsibilities, but it is simply, shamefully true that > successive administrations of India's smallest state have done exactly > that.* > > > *In the case of whatever laws do exist, this so-called "industry" > specializes in flouting them. Both Delta Corp and Pride Group (the > companies that dominate gambling in Goa) have been raided by the income tax > department over money-laundering and tax evasion. In the Louis Berger > bribery case involving Churchill Alemao and Digambar Kamat, special public > prosecutor G D Kirtani told the judge, B P Deshpande, "[accused hawala > agent, Raichand] Soni funds many casino gamblers in Goa. Casinos are > running on his funds".* > > > *Last year, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) was petitioned about sewage > pollution from casinos, and enjoined Goa's pollution control board (GSPCB) > to test Mandovi's water. The results were gravely disturbing. Where 5 CFU > (colony-forming units) of faecal coliform bacteria is considered safe, the > lowest recorded in six river locations tested was 78 CFU/ml, and right next > to the casinos opposite Panaji jetty was an extremely dangerous 330 CFU/ml, > making it "unsafe for recreational bathing, water sports and fishing". The > casinos probably should have been shut down immediately. Instead, then > chief minister Manohar Parrikar gave them a unilateral clean chit.* > > > *Previous governments initiated gambling in Goa, and allowed its toxic > spread, but the current administration's shameful reversal of its promises > has been exceptionally disappointing. **As the then leader of the > opposition, Parrikar called casinos "a social evil" and "dens of vice" > while protesting against them on the riverbank. But just days after taking > over, his government reduced their entry fee from Rs 2,000 to just Rs 500.* > *Then > there was his claim that casino "bad money" would never be needed for the > budget, and would set aside to be used for homes for the aged. That is > another promise in the garbage pile.* > > *Everyone knows the solution is to stop gambling from degrading everything > of value in Goa's environment, culture and society. **The "offshore" > eyesores could easily be moved to the Mormugao harbour, where all the > required infrastructure already exists.** Like other enlightened > destinations, the state could easily ban roadside and airport advertising > of casinos and gambling. And if this government were even minimally > responsible it would pause the ongoing free-for-all until it can implement > enforceable gambling regulations, and install robust oversight mechanisms. > But instead Goa's politicians continue to blithely play a losing hand, with > Goa's reputation and future at stake.* > > *The writer is a widely-published author and photographer.* >