MARGAO: The call given by Goans for Dabolim Only to the people of Goa to rise up against the Mopa airport received support from an NGO based in the tourism hub of Cavelossim.
The Cavelossim Villagers Forum has appealed to all Goans to wake up and support the movement of Goans for Dabolim Only, fearing death knell for the tourism industry in the event of two airports in Goa.
While extending its full support to GFDO’s movement against the proposed airport at Mopa, the Forum said that Goa being small, the state will never be able to sustain two airports.
“Dabolim airport is centrally located and after liberation, substantial infrastructure development including hotel industry took place considering the airport base and accordingly tourism business flourished continuously in South and North Goa. As tourism business is highly sensitive to factors such as environmental pollution, freedom to move freely and more particularly dependent on peaceful atmosphere everywhere. When there is unrest in areas from where tourists are travelling, there will be less flight arrivals. Hence, it is difficult to predict that the Dabolim airport will be saturated by 2035 based on present statistics”, stated Irish Passainha, Forum president.
The Forum said the government instead of requesting the Navy to part with land for expansion of the present airport and asking the Centre to relocate the Navy to Seabird project at Karwar is making a haste to develop Mopa airport without thinking of sustaining the existing tourism industry totally dependent on the Dabolim airport.
“The Chief Minister is intentionally going ahead with the Mopa airport to enrich his MLAs by selling huge chunk of land purchased by them at throw away prices at the cost of tourism industry and dependent stakeholders thereby destroying Goa`s GDP completely”, he said, while
accusing the government for trying to destroy the tourism industry by shifting the airport base to Mopa.
