A government minister in Goa who argued for a ban on miniskirts, bikinis and bars has come under fire for allowing publicly owned jetties in the capital of Panaji to serve casino vessels plying the Mandovi River.
Sudin Dhavalikar, who heads the Public Works department, sparked a national outcry with his claim that short skirts, revealing bathing suits and alcohol consumption are anathema to “Indian culture”.
Goa, a small state on India’s western coast, is one of the few places in the country where casino gambling is legal, but the Mandovi River boats are opposed by some community groups and opposition politicians and their future is controversial.
Dhavalikar, who also presides over river navigation, defended a program allowing casino operators to renovate the jetties for use as ticketing and transit areas for players to be ferried to the floating casinos.
“They (casino operators) are paying three times more,” he said in response to a recent attack on the program in the Legislative Assembly. “We are getting more than Rs.1 crore (US$160,000) as revenue.”
But that didn’t prevent Dhavalikar from being heckled over his earlier bikini comments, prompting him at one point to accuse legislator Mauvin Godhino of lacking respect.
“You ask that to someone at home if they want to wear it,” he snapped.
The head of government, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, meanwhile, has assured lawmakers that a gaming commission would be set up to regulate the industry, and that he had secured commitments from the five offshore operators to move their vessels off the river by 2015.
The state also is home to about a dozen small casinos operating on-shore in tourist hotels.
