TEAM HERALD
PANAJI: A day after Goans for Dabolim Only lambasted BJP-led government for favouring Mopa airport, and said Dabolim would serve for another 40 years, the BJP reiterated that while Dabolim airport will continue operations with world class facilities, Mopa is a futuristic airport, for the increasing tourist flow into Goa.
“BJP is clear on its stand on the dual airport. The existing Dabolim airport will not just continue its operation but would be further expanded with state-of-art facilities. Mopa airport is a futuristic plan of the government to cater to the increasing tourist flow,” BJP spokesperson Pramod Sawant told media persons on Thursday.
GFDO at a public meeting at Lohia Maidan, Margao on Wednesday demanded scrapping of the Mopa airport. While all other candidates, who are in the Lok Sabha fray attended the meeting, BJP South Goa candidate Narendra Sawaikar was absent. Non presence of Sawaikar sparked allegations with the Opposition parties and GFDO asserting that BJP and state government is not in favour of Dabolim.
“We have been making our stand clear since the very beginning,” Sawant said, urging the rival-Congress to make its stand clear on the dual airport issue.
Sawant said that while Congress South Goa candidate Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco is in favour of Dabolim and demands scraping of Mopa airport, its North Goa candidate Ravi Naik is dodging the Mopa question. “This clearly indicates that Congress stand is only in favour of Dabolim…if it is so then the Congressmen like Vishawajit Rane, Ramakant Khalap and Jitendra Deshprabhu, who are busy campaigning in North need to make the public aware about their stand on Mopa,” he stated.
Most of the candidates contesting in the South– Reginaldo (Congress), Swati Kerkar (AAP), Churchill Alemao (Trinamool), Savio Rodrigues (Goa Su-Raj), Raju Mangueshkar (CPI) and Shalom Sardinha (Ind), who participated in the public meeting, were not in favour of Mopa.
