TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Goans for Dabolim Only on Monday said the proposal to build the second airport as an arbitrary decision of the State government, even as it accused the latter of concealing the devastating impact of the second airport on Goans and Goan economy.
Accusing bureaucrats and elected representatives, GFDO said that government records show all studies and reports were done subsequent to decision to build the second airport. The need for a second airport was never questioned, it stated. “Today, new data and circumstances have emerged, eclipsing old and incorrect data, and outdated inferences. The feasibility of a second airport at Mopa is now found to be non-existent. The Civil Aviation Ministry has issued ‘Norms and Standards for Determining the Capacity of Airport Terminals’ in 2009 recommending that airport capacity must not be increased beyond 7 or 10 years in future. Mopa airport proposal is therefore against recommended norms in addition to being arbitrary and unfeasible”, GFDO said.
GFDO convenor Fr Eremito Rebello further said that with the opening of the new Dabolim Terminal, its design capacity has increased from 700 passengers per hour to 2,750 passengers per hour, almost a four-fold increase.
