JOIN USThe Goa government assured the state Legislative Assembly on Friday that it will examine the possibility of shifting casino vessels anchored in River Mandovi to Aguada Bay.
Ports Minister Michael Lobo said the possibility of shifting the vessels to Aguada Bay will be considered after conducting a proper survey of the location.
Aguada Bay is located where the Mandovi meets the sea on the outskirts of Panaji.
Lobo was responding to the demand of BJP MLA Atanasio Monseratte that the casino vessels be moved out of the Mandovi as they have created a "mess" in the state capital.
The Panaji MLA was speaking after Lobo tabled `demands for grants' of his department.
The offshore casino lobby seemed to have privatised the jetties, which come under the Ports and Fisheries Department, to transport casino visitors to the vessels, he alleged.
"Today, you say casinos generate income for the state, you can take them to your constituency (Calangute) as it is in the tourism belt," he said to Lobo.
"It is the bureaucracy who are patronizing the casinos," the BJP MLA alleged.