FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024
As the mega project nears its completion, many have realised the amount of truth such statements hold. Most have even given up with the availability of posts after it came to light that jobs would be on contract-based and not as government service. Hence, people's representatives have shifted their focus on the Tuem electronic city project which has been on and off for years.
Leaders are trying to make up a convincing environment to sell their promise of creating jobs at that project instead. Pernem taluka will surely transform after Mopa Airport and hence, planning should be done keeping in mind welfare of Pednekars. Logistics park could be a good alternative for that. In his speech, the then Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu had announced the creation of a logistics hub when he visited the Mopa site for inspection of the airport work. The follow-up of that declaration should be done at government level as well as by locals. Local leaders should try to understand this issue more seriously. Pernem does have people who understand the dynamics of this issue and they should be invited to discuss this. The government should be open to listen to what intellectuals in the society have to say on the matter. Development should be all-inclusive and it is high time for the government to show it through action. The logistics hub or park mentioned by Prabhu should not be ignored. The national policy regarding raw material required for industries and transport plus storage needed for the produce was announced recently. The logistics park can assist facilities such as warehouses, cold rooms, offices of companies transporting goods, manpower which is needed 24/7 for the transportation, permits required for imports, etc.
India is ranked at 44 when it comes to the traditional system of commerce and the aim is to bring the country into the top 25. There are three ways used for the transportation of industrial goods. 60% of goods transportation in India is done through roadways, 30% by railways and only 3% by waterways. The changes are being made after acceptance of the fact that the country is severely backward regarding goods transportation as compared to the rest of the world. Attempts will be made to bring down the expenditure to a single digit from the present 13 to 14%.
New system will also be implemented after analysing information related to custom-duty, transportation, export-import, and GST. Therefore, the Central government, in its new policy, has claimed that the expenditure on goods transportation will be reduced. Taking advantage of the logistics park through Centre's funds should be encouraged at Mopa. Most of the government projects take years, or even decades, to complete and precaution should be taken to avoid logistics park suffering the same fate. If done with a complete professional vision and execution, the employment opportunities generated here will be enough for the welfare of the locals. The warehouses spread across 10,000 sq feet area and height ranging from 3 to 4 metres are less in Goa. Warehouses equipped with refrigeration rooms, internal transportation facilities and modern layouts are non-existent.
The State has an opportunity to build such warehouses with improved transportation. This park can be used for consolidation, isolation, grading, packaging, re-packaging of the goods along with the distribution. The manpower for this can be found in a great number at local level. Logistics park in other words is Dry Port and the Central government had a separate scheme for that which, without any surprise, was stalled. Now, a logistics park will also be erected in the same place as the dry port. If such a system will be activated in a year then the manpower required for the same should be trained from now on. The guarantee of employment should be given once the participant successfully completes the training. Only then Pernem locals will truly feel that the taluka is being developed due to Mopa Airport. Logistics park is a priority for Pernem and its importance must be acknowledged.
