TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Goans for Dabolim Only (GFDO) alleged that the government’s shielding of the proposed golf course project at Tiracol is a justification of Mopa airport. Addressing a press conference, GFDO convenor Fr Eremito Rebelo said that the golf course and other 5-star hotels in Pernem will force the displacement of the taluka’s residents. The projects are necessary to make Mopa airport feasible, he said.
“So called development in Tiracol, including Leading Hotels’ golf course and four more stared hotels, are linked to Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar’s efforts to transform the unfeasible Mopa airport into a viable money-spinning project. BJP’s Mopa airport dream is turning out to be a nightmare for the people of Goa,” Fr Rebello said.
Commenting on Parsekar’s claim of 99 per cent tourism establishments in Pernem being illegal, he asked how the chief minister can certify Leading Hotels’ project as legal when it has violated NGT orders.
“Parsekar’s defence of the Tiracol golf course and efforts to bring more stared hotels in Pernem clearly exposes his role as one of the main planners of the destruction of Pernem taluka since he is the same person who fought for Mopa airport’s land acquisition,” Fr Eremito alleged.
He also said that BJP ruthlessly wants to fulfill the dream of Mopa airport at the cost of Goans and in the interest of corporates. “Shortly, there will be a six-lane highway from North to South,” he said.
He said that the violence against Goa and Goans has reached an unbearable situation. “People of Goa now feel threatened; they feel insecure which has never happened in the past. It is the BJP government that has created this situation for Goans,” Fr Eremito said.
He appealed to the people of Goa and Pernem to act together to bring destructive plans of the greedy vested interests to a permanent end. “Parsekar, the government and all others are eyeing profits from the lands of the poor,” he said.
