India, Feb. 12 -- The proposed entry of a new offshore ca sino vessel into the River Mandovi has reignited the long-running controversy over floating casinos, with citizens and activists alleg ing a backdoor expansion in capacity even as the gov ernment maintains that the number of vessels will re main unchanged. Captain of Ports (CoP) Octavio Anthony Rodri gues clarified that the State government has permitted only six offshore casinos in Goa and 'at no point can the number exceed six'. At pres ent, five offshore casinos operate on the Panjim side of the river and one on the Verem side.

According to CoP Rodrigues, the current exercise in volves replacing the smaller 'Dolphin' casino vessel with a larger 112-metre-long vessel - a proposa...