After standing in the queue for almost four hours, to purchase tickets for the semi finals at the Fatorda stadium on Saturday, I was shocked to know that within an hour of the ticket counter being opened all the tickets were sold out. The serpentine line had hardly moved a mere 20 metres. The whole allotment of tickets for Margao sold in a just an hour. That’s amazing! The staff selling the tickets deserve a place in the Limca Book of records.
Zico’s team gave us Goans something to dream about. Passionate as they are about their football! Goans egged and cheered their team lustily even when they were languishing at the bottom of the league table, till the much awaited turn around. The fans, as Zico admitted were one major factor to the turnaround. But the all to familiar story unfolded today as the dreams of diehard fans turned into a nightmare, a result of unscrupulous elements out to make a fast buck. This was a big let down.
Who are these elements and where did the tickets disappear. Rumours abound on the disappearance but the owners of FC Goa need to conduct a serious enquiry, explain to their fans and take remedial steps, failing which, surging football fans now brimming the stadiums might abandon the stadiums all together in the future.
Bosco Rodrigues, Cavelossim
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Ban Pak hockey team
The obscene gestures by Pakistani players after beating India in the Champions tournament semi- finals, cannot be condoned merely by an apology tendered by the team manager. A one-match ban on two players is not sufficient. Pakistan must be banned from the next Champions Trophy.
The Pakistan government must take firm action against the hockey team for bringing the game of hockey into disrepute. Already no country is willing to sent their teams to Pakistan for sporting events. Pakistan cricketers have suffered financially as they are not allowed to play in the lucrative IPL . The Pakistan Cricket Board too has suffered as India has refused to play with them.
The obscene gestures by Pakistanis will further vitiate the situation making it virtually impossible to renew sporting ties between the two countries.
Prof Robert Castellino, Calangute
Mopa airport is a hoax
Former MP John Fernandes who also was a member of Parliamentary committee of Tourism and Civil Aviation, revealed that the Mopa airport is a hoax. The hype is created by land sharks and politicians with vested interest who have purchased vast tracts of land. The airport will destroy Environment, frighten wildlife.
Due to constant movements of aircrafts in the area will result in depletion of ozone layer which will lead to cloud burst. Mopa airport is not a Greenfield airport as claimed rather a Rock-sheet airport. Above all, the Navy will be the first to raise objection on Mopa airport.
Montreal Protocol specifies that the futurist airport ought to be atleast 150 kilometers away from each other to avoid formation of Ozone holes. Mopa which lies at the foot of the Western Ghats will destroy the tranquil surrounding of wildlife within a radius of 15 Aeronautical miles as consequence of Air taxing by aircrafts waiting to descend which at present Arabian Sea is used for Air taxing prior to touch down at Dabolim airport.
According to aviation experts and R.C. Kurana, former Executive Director of AAI and Chairman, Selection Committee for second airport states that Mopa is unsafe and unsuitable being tabletop mountain with ditches and undulating lands and environmentally disastrous. Hope our Defence Minister will realize the blunders of Mopa and shift the naval wing from Dabolim to Sea Bird, Karwar which is the biggest naval base in India. Vijay Sardessai, Fatorda MLA rightly reminded our ex-CM about the past speeches made that the Defence Ministry is the biggest land grabbers in Goa
Denis D’Souza, Caranzalem
