Presses for scrapping Mopa airport project
TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Goans for Dabolim Only on Sunday asserted that the government drop the second airport project at Mopa without any delay, even as members of GFDO called on North Goa MP Sripad Naik and MLA Vishu Surya Wagh in support of its demand for the scrapping of the proposed airport.
In continuation of its ongoing programme to appraise the elected representatives of Goa regarding the pressing airport issue, GFDO members drew attention of both Sripad and Wagh to the adequacy of Dabolim airport for the future, the non-feasibility of a second airport in tiny Goa, the disastrous impact of the present airport policy on Goan economy, the displacement faced by thousands of Goans due to the proposed second airport, and other important facets of the airport issue. Both the elected representatives gave the GFDO members a patient hearing.
GFDO convenor Fr Eremito Rebello said it is increasingly becoming clear to the Goan public at large that the government has put the future of the people in serious jeopardy with its fatally flawed airport policy. “All facts and arguments clearly support our view that Goa can sustain only one civilian airport, which can be at Dabolim only. It is essential that the government drops the second airport project without any delay, thereby saving crucial finance, time and energy, and averting a catastrophic collapse of the Goan economy in the future”, he asserted.
Fr Rebello said the failure of the government to respond to the facts and arguments raised in the past, and its silence on the demand for a public debate on the airport issue, have reinforced the view that the airport policy being pursued by Goa government is horribly wrong. “The experiences of various cities around the world, and the opinions of experts from ICAO and ADPi, are ominous warnings against taking the path chalked out by our government. The economic and social glory earned by Goa in the past will be permanently destroyed unless public interest and reason drive our decisions, especially for major infrastructure such as the airport,” he added.
