VASCO: The internal access road of Dabolim Airport was cleared of bouncers on Friday, the same day Herald had reported on its front page of their illegal deployment outside the terminal building.
Herald’s front page report at the exit point of the internal access road of Dabolim Airport shocked Vasco Sub Divisional Police Officer DySP Mohan Naik at 7 am on Friday and he immediately rang up Dabolim Police Inspector Brutano Peixote directing him to look into the matter and ensure that there are no bouncers at the airport exit gate.
“Yes, when I read the Herald report and the statement of MP Narendra Sawaikar, I immediately issued instructions to my officer in charge at Dabolim to obtain details of verification of security personnel employed by the contractor and asked why bouncers were deployed. I asked the contractor to ensure that bouncers should not been seen near Dabolim Airport,” Naik told Herald.
Several members of North Goa Tourist Taxi Owners Association who were part of the protest at Dabolim airport on Friday said they were surprised to learn that bouncers were operating at the airport and had come to get the issue resolved.
Curtorim Congress MLA Alexio Reginald Lourenco, who was present at the airport to extend his support to the taxi operators, said he too was surprised to read about the bouncers and had decided to take up the issue by speaking to the concerned officials and would raise it in the coming assembly session.
“It was a shocker for me in the morning to read about bouncers at Dabolim Airport. What has never happened before is happening in this BJP rule. Why do they need bouncers? Do they think our people are weak and would get scared? Where are BJP MLAs and ministers, that they cannot see such injustice at the airport? Are they quietly watching our people getting harassed? I decided to support the taxi operators’ demand and rushed here,” Lourenco told Herald.
The report on bouncers went viral within hours of publication. People, not just locally, but even from abroad uploaded it on Facebook and other social media sites and passed harsh comments condemning the action of deploying bouncers at the airport exit point.
