PANJIM: After labour gate scam, the Goa Forward Party on Thursday charged BJP led government of multi crore ‘Quarantine-Gate’ scam alleging that huge amount were collected from those stranded Goans, who were repatriated from abroad in view of Covid outbreak, in the name of quarantine facility.
GFP, which also alleged that hefty fees were charged from stranded Goans, who came by flight, the companies were asked to pay huge sum for special charter flights and also port charges for anchoring their cruise ships, is exploring option to move Lokayukta for necessary investigation.
Addressing the media, GFP Vice-President Durgadas Kamat said, “This shameless government turned a humanitarian Repatriation Operation into an inhuman and immoral Money-Spinning Operation. It tried to rake in money through everything connected with the Repatriation Operation beginning with the mode of travel and its cost (air, sea or road) to the health related measures adopted once they entered the State.”
He said, “So, those choosing to fly were charged exorbitant fares, those Companies wanting to Charter Flights were charged excessive fees and those Companies wanting to get their Cruise Ships to the Goa port were charged a bomb as various port fees. Everybody knows that by now, the Goa Government has become notorious in the International Cruise Industry as “Extortionists” par excellence.”
He further said that, the GFP is of the opinion that the BJP led government in Goa has swindled crores of rupees in the name of “Repatriation of GOENKARS” for which they have not worked for the most part.
“As per information in the public domain and the orders passed by the Collectors, we know that every person was charged not less than 2500/- rupees per day. We now have reliable information that of these 2500/- , a person in the name of the Goa Government came to collect rupees 700/- per person per day from the Hotels wherever the repatriated Goenkars were kept in quarantine.” Kamat alleged
Explaining further the GFP VP stated that if we just take an average of 7 days then that works out to a massive amount of Rupees 5, 42, 28,300/- (Five Crores, Forty-Two Lakhs, Twenty-Eight Thousand and Three Hundred). So we are looking at an average scam here of nothing less than FIVE CRORES.
Meanwhile, GFP has said that they will seek legal opinion now on this and then as per our Senior Counsel Advice will approach Lokayukta
