SURAJ NANDREKAR/
Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Well, the Goa Casinos have not only become a major attraction for tourists in Goa, but many of the officers in the Goa Government have also become addicted to Gambling in Casinos.
Sounds strange but true; a high-level IAS officer in the Goa Industrial Development Corporation was recently in the news for purchasing a swanky car above the purchase limit and is become a regular visitor to the casino.
Goemkarponn has come to understand that the Goa Industrial Development Managing Director Abhishek Pravimal is a daily visitor to casinos in Panaji.
Not that we are questioning anything is wrong in his visits, but sources revealed that the MD takes the official car and the driver, who is made to wait till 3 am at night.
What has irked the rivers is that this is a daily affair and not just a one-off day.
To make matters worse for the MD, the driver has written on the logbook maintained by GIDC that he is delayed due to the MD visiting casinos.
The logbook is countersigned daily by Airen Pereira, who is the Personal Assitant to the MD.
Further, no sooner the MD came to know that the driver had written casino on the logbook than he called General Manager (Admin) and directed him to dismiss the driver from service.
However, the GM informed him that the driver was a permanent staff.
Now that the driver cannot be terminated, he was made to sit from morning till about 7.30 pm in the office every day without assigning any duty.
The GIDC drivers have now come together to fight for justice for their colleagues and have threatened a strike. They have also protested working late hours at night.
When Goemkarponn contacted GIDC Chairman Aleixo Reginald Lourenco, he said he wasn’t aware of any such thing.
“Let me verify all these allegations first, and then we I will get back to you,” Reginald said.
Managing Director Abhishek Pravimal encountered a controversy previously when he purchased a new car for GIDC MD (himself) worth Rs 30 lakhs when only a limit of Rs 10 lakh is permitted.
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