Goa: Protest march held for demand to remove offshore casinos

A protest march was Wednesday taken out here to press for the demand to remove offshore casino vessels from river Mandovi. Goa Suraksha Manch, an outfit founded by former Goa RSS chief Subhash Velingkar, led the protest from Captain of Ports building to Azad Maidan.

Velingkar described the protest march as the beginning of a state-wide agitation against offshore casino vessels, which is "harming Goa's social fabric". "We are against the promotion of gambling and other activities like prostitution," he said.

The coastal state has six offshore casinos being operated from Mandovi. Velingkar sought Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's apology for saying that casinos were part of Goa's tourism profile. He also asked the CM to withdraw his statement.

"In 2012, the BJP had promised that they will eliminate offshore casios from Mandovi, but they have gone back on their promise for the reasons best known to them," Velingkar said. He claimed that the number of offshore casinos has increased during the BJP rule, which "clearly exposes their nexus with the (casino) lobby"..

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