Team Herald
VASCO: Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho on Friday said that Mopa airport would be an engine of growth for Goa and that 80 percent of the jobs would be given to Goan youth at this new facility.
He was addressing the gathering as chief guest on the occasion of the Republic Day, organized by the office of the deputy collector at Tilak Maidan in Vasco.
“Mopa Airport is need of the hour as passenger growth at Dabolim airport and particularly in the domestic segment is increasing every year. I feel that Mopa airport will be an engine of growth and 80 percent of the jobs at the new facility will be given to the Goan youth,” he said.
Mauvin said that the performance of State government improves when there is better coordination with the Central government. “Today with this help Goa is moving ahead in terms of development and infrastructure works and quality life of the people have been improved to a great extent,” he said.
The minister said that the Government is committed to protecting ecology and environment of the State. The government, he said, has initiated steps to check pollution of any kind with utmost care.
Commenting on coal pollution, Mauvin said, “It is time to ponder the way we propagates certain things; whether we should leave motor car or motorcycle for the pollution it causes and go back to the bullock cart age. Do we in Goa realise that we enjoy the power and light in Goa only because of the power produced by power plants run only on coal as the fuel? Somewhere, we need to strike a right balance.”
He warned that over restriction would bring the economic activities in port town to a standstill. “If the Mormugao Port is closed there would be large scale unemployment. I want to assure to the people that the State government is very much concerned about the health of its citizens and has already made its stand clear on pollution but people should oppose pollution and not coal,” he said.
