Casinos will come and go. They are replaceable. Our beaches are not,” stated the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court on August 23 while hearing a public interest litigation on the threat posed to Goa’s popular Miramar beach from the sinking offshore casino vessel MV Lucky Seven. The controversy dates back to July when the 35-year-old vessel was allowed by the high court to enter Goa’s waters. The 5,000 tonne, 75-metrelong vessel was first towed to the Mormugao Port Trust shipyard and then, without the mandatory fitness certificate, was being brought towards the Mandovi river, where it would operate as the state’s sixth offshore casino. However, the vessel got stranded off Cabo Raj Bhavan, eventually drifting towards Panaji’s Miramar beach on July 16. It has developed a breach and is gradually sinking. Golden Globe Hotels, the company which owns the vessel, has roped in a Goa-based company, Madgavkar Salvage, to salvage the grounded vessel, but work is unlikely to begin before September 15. Meanwhile, more cracks have developed in the vessel, flooding its deck and lower floors. As the crisis deepens, the Goa government finds itself in a bind. Gopal Kanda, a controversial former Haryana minister who owns Golden Globe Hotels, is yet to respond to the government’s notices regarding measures taken by the company to prevent damage to the sea bed. Pressure is mounting, with environmentalists warning that the Miramar shoreline is showing increased signs of soil erosion. “Soil erosion is normal during the monsoon, but the vessel has increased it by two metres more than normal,” says Antonio Mascarenhas, a former scientist at Goa’s National Institute of Oceanography (NIO). He points out that sand deposits have been noticed on the northern side of the Caranzalem-Miramar beach. “It’s the effect of the grounded vessel,” says Mascarenhas. Now, the Goa government has asked Golden Globe Hotels to submit a bank guarantee of Rs 1 crore towards environmental damage caused, before towing the vessel away. After the vessel is moved, the state’s environment department and NIO will jointly assess the damage caused to the beach. Kanda has denied allegations that MV Lucky Seven is damaging the shoreline. He maintains that the vessel will be towed away soon. Given the mishaps in the past, concern is mounting. In 2000, the MV River Princess was grounded off Sinquerim beach, damaging the shoreline at the popular Candolim beach.