Panaji: Mayor Rohit Monserrate said that while he is not in favour of casinos, the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has no jurisdiction over the casinos and cannot decide whether the vessels are allowed to dock in the Mandovi or not. He responded to concerns from residents over a proposed new offshore casino vessel being brought in. Locals urged CCP to pass a resolution opposing the arrival of the casino. Monserrate said that while he would place the appeal before the council, CCP has no jurisdiction over licensing. “What happens in the river has nothing to do with the corporation,” said Monserrate.He added, “We agreed to present their appeal in front of the council. The council licence will be on Feb 12. Casinos operating in the water don’t have to apply to CCP for a licence to operate. They will come to us if they need a trade licence for their office on land. Water does not come under the CCP at all. The corporation has no role in issuing any licence for any casino operating in the river. I don’t gamble and I don’t like the habit either, but they are in the city and they are contributing a lot to the economy, and that is one reason why people are tolerating it. There are certain issues that we have, like parking; there are social issues… that should be corrected by govt. I don’t personally support casinos.”A group of Panaji resident delegation led by AAP Goa president Valmiki Naik, earlier in the morning, submitted a memo to the mayor demanding that permissions be revoked, amid a new casino vessel being assembled in the river, between the Captain of Ports jetty and Santa Monica jetty.Naik said, “The capacity of the casino vessels and its negative impact rose tenfold in the past 12 to 15 years. Panaji Residents have been sufferin from traffic congestion, crime, prostitution, drugs. People in the gram sabha have their voice, but people who live in the city don’t. We requested the mayor to reject proposals for casinos.”
