PANAJI
All casinos in the State will remain shut on October 2, which is commemorated as 'Gandhi Jayanti' the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation.
The Home Department has issued a notification to this effect which reads thus: "The Government of Goa, in order to pay homage to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, has decided that all gaming operations at casinos in the State should remain closed on October 2."
Under Secretary (Home) Manesh Hari Kedar said in the notification that all the casino licensees "shall stop" the operation of casinos with effect from 12 am of October 2 to 12 am of October 3.
Kedar said, these directions shall be adhered to scrupulously.
Casinos staying open strutting their stuff as usual on Gandhi Jayanti day which is a dry day where no alcohol can be sold or served in business establishments, had snowballed into a major controversy over a decade ago after local activists in the capital had exposed it.
Since then, the State administration has been cautious to issue directions to the industry to remain shut on October 2 every year which is being followed this year too.
