www.timesofindia.com Balcony view: A defiant princess
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ SUNDAY, JULY 14, 2002 8:03:44 PM ] PANAJI: This is one princess in the throes of death refusing to take it lying down. Two years ago the "River Princess", a huge cargo vessel, succumbed to the pull of a vicious storm, broke itself from her moorings at Mormugao harbour and drifted aimlessly to finally land off the Candolim shore. She has been lying there ever since, imperiously defying everyone, including the government authorities, from being shifted from her resting place. In the bargain, she has been giving endless headaches to the surrounding hotels, who have been relentlessly complaining that their tourist trade has been badly hit. The wreck threatens to break and spew whatever remaining oil she has thereby polluting the sand along the beach. The authorities are caught in a fix as the ship's charterers have so far avoided the pressures from all quarters to shift her. It was said last year, that she would not be able to sustain the battering of the seas. But so far nothing has happened and she continues to stand out like a spectre in the backdrop of the murky sky. The big question mark is whether it would be possible to move it and tug it to a burial place or whether she will finally have to be cut in her present position. TO GAMBLE OR NOT If they have money, they go to casino and gamble. But, gambling on earth is prohibited by law. Yet Goa has many joints in municipal markets where even school students and salaried class invest their hard-earned cash. In fact, casinos have become popular and many air dash from other cities to Goa only to gamble. In May last, the administration escorted one officer from the Election Commission to this casino to gamble. More than a dozen government officers are frequent visitors to the casino. Besides, the administration runs an independent department which sells lotteries. When the BJP-led coalition government came to power, it held the view that more than 5,000 families were surviving on gambling dens and that it was difficult to stop this illegal business. But, police periodically raid the dens and arrest the persons running them. What is gambling and what is not is disputed. On one side, they permit gambling at casinos and on the other they prevent commonmen from playing matka. A VIP can gamble but a common man cannot. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
