Having gone through Goa’s oldest English daily ‘O Herald O’ from 16 to 18 October and being a pro-Dabolim protagonist I pen this article.
Bouyed up and enlightened by the comments of the editor of ‘oHeraldo’ it goes without saying that any sane person in authority will go by the pulse of the electorate, taking them into confidence before venturing into any project of such a paramount importance. In this instance it is the Mopa airport which the CM wants to push down our throats by enslaving us into submission to his self-centered ideology and ego.
On the 16th instant on the front page appeared the title “Mopa is a JV of both Congress and BJP” as asserted by Vijai Sardessai and I presume all the readers will agree. Both parties have equally soiled their hands and hearts due to it.
Continuing further on the 17th instant our CM Parrikar made a bold statement which he had made earlier also saying that “No force can ground Mopa airport and it will be a reality come what may” saying that only his government can decide. He also stated whether Goa meant only South and if the North had no right to demand an airport. Five decades ago this question had no relevance but now it means a lot, life and death for those who are involved in tourism business and this vacuum has been artificially created to divide North and South Goans. Now the question arises as to who made the difference between North and South Goa, if not the politicians who want to polarize things to their advantage, once the bubble breaks there will be utter chaos amongst the very own brothers and sisters who identify and call themselves as Goans.
Mopa was never on the election manifesto and was deliberately omitted because of it’s consequences, but shrewdly brought in the picture once the BJP got a landslide victory with a toothless opposition or no opposition at all for his diktats. Parrikar has also said the government will connect the existing and the new airport with the corridor of six and four lane roads and that too without demolishing any existing houses or structures. What a bluff and which fool can digest it ! You can’t fool the people all of the time, that thing is of the past. I presume Goans are wise enough to gauze right from wrong.
He also promised to finalise the Galgibaga and the Talpona bridges which have been in limbo for decades government comes and government goes. What is more striking about our CM is that he thinks he is indispensable to Goa and Goa is his birthright over which he has sole rights barring all other Goan’s and hence he takes unilateral decisions for it’s welfare. Promising and not delivering is akin to building castles in the air which never materialize into reality and that is what is being done at the present.He may put it in black and white, but of what value is it once you are no longer in power as no one can rule for eternity. The airport is a national property and does not belong to one individual. So how can anybody even the PM or President say that Dabolim will be retained and functional after the commissioning of the new airport at Mopa. It is the prerogative and choice of the airlines from where they want to operate their flights, either from Dabolim or Maharashtra’s/Members Own Private Airport (MOPA) .Let better sense prevail and God save Dabolim and Goa for the Goans.
