Goa’s political party wants to shut down casinos

They want to boost hinterland tourism to generate revenue in the city.

India.- Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM), the political party launched in late 2016, said that they will shut down casinos in Goa once it is voted to power. They want to increase tourism in the city in order to generate a bigger revenue.

“Tourists do not come to Goa for casinos but visit the State to witness hinterland, cultural and spiritual tourism and our alliance after coming to power will shut down casinos in the State,” said Hridaynath Shirodkar, GSM General Secretary. According to him, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to intimidate voters to vote for a different party. Shirodkar said that they will try to promote proper tourism through which the government will generate revenue. “Our alliance will start proper mining keeping in mind the Supreme Court regulations. GSM will also try to recover the Rs 35,000 crore due to illegal mining, if at all it is possible through any manner, but won’t make false promises,” he added.

Back in november, the congress decided to urge Goa’s government to shut operations and shift offshore and onshore casinos out of Goa. They also stated that they need to fins an alternative way to generate revenue in order to process the losses. All India Congress Committee secretary Girish Chodankar said that they need to change the image of the city since casinos have severely affected the economic life of Goa: “We need to change the picture. Goa should not be looked as only for casinos.”