Opening casinos was but natural with the elections fast approaching; otherwise, where would Dr Pramod Sawant and Company get the election funding from?
With no mining operation, it is difficult for mining companies to support BJP, which has been the case in the past, and the BJP has to now fall back on the casino industry for the funding. There was immense pressure from the influential industry on Sawant to restart their business from the Centre too.
So while the school remained shut for yet another year, Sawant welcomes the casino industry to restart the business.
Can the Chief Minister tell us how he will follow the 50 per cent capacity norm in the casinos? Will there be police or officials posted to monitor the same?
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
Goa’s worst nightmares are now turning into reality. Be it the opening of the State for tourism or casinos, or be political rallies, Goa is now free for all.
The threat of the third wave of COVID19 could soon become a reality.
With the State administration opening up the State for tourism, it seems like an open invitation for COVID19, which now has brothers and sisters in Delta and Delta plus variants.
When Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant announced that Goa has achieved 100 per cent first dose vaccination, it was crystal clear that he wanted to open up State for tourism activities and casinos.
Mind you, Goa’s COVID19 cases are still hovering around 100-mark, and deaths are also stable at 2-4/ day. So no way Goa can say it has defeated the second wave of COVID19.
Opening casinos was but natural with the elections fast approaching; otherwise, where would Dr Pramod Sawant and Company get the election funding from?
With no mining operation, it is difficult for mining companies to support BJP, which has been the case in the past, and the BJP has to now fall back on the casino industry for the funding. There was immense pressure from the influential industry on Sawant to restart their business from the Centre too.
So while the school remained shut for yet another year, Sawant welcomes the casino industry to restart the business.
Can the Chief Minister tell us how he will follow the 50 per cent capacity norm in the casinos? Will there be police or officials posted to monitor the same?
By the time the authorities from land reach the off-shore casinos, the operators already know who is coming and empty the place.
Last time around, we saw the second wave had increased due to many cases from casinos. So how does the CM intend to curb this? Or is he just a rubber stamp from the Centre to restart casinos.
Not just the tourism, Sawant has now also opened up Goa for all the political rallies.
On Monday itself, two political heavyweights, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and former Maharashtra CM and BJP’s Goa in-charge Devendra Fadnavis, are in Goa to address the workers.
The poll bugle has been sounded, and there is no way the crowd is going to be less anywhere, or the COVID19 norms could be followed. We have seen that in West Bengal and others. For the politicians, elections are always going to be the most important for a person’s life is just a vote for them and nothing else.
We have witnessed it ourselves, how our chief minister and the BJP State chief Sadanand Shet Tanawade have led huge rallies in the past few days. Besides, the State did not have any SOPs for Ganesh festival.
The political rallies, tourism, the casinos and the festivals all have started together, and it’s going to be really testing times for the people of Goa, for the politicians will always blame people for not following protocols.