TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Goemkar Convenor Vijai Sardesai on Monday said the fall in charter flights to Goa can be attributed to inadequate parking facilities at the Dabolim airport and the failure of Congress and BJP governments in the last 12 years to sustain, mobilize and increase infrastructure at Dabolim after it was conferred the international airport in year 2000.
Briefing newsmen on the eve of the formal launching of Goemkar at the Lohia Maidan on Tuesday, Sardessai said that 90 per cent of the International Charters coming to India used to land in Goa. “Even the Goa government has admitted that the fall in Charter Tourists is evident in the last year and this could be attributed to disinterest of Europeans in the face of hardships caused due to inadequate parking facilities at Dabolim Airport”, he said.
Saying that South Goa was most hit by the fall in Charter tourism, Vijai said the present BJP Govt was doing nothing to alleviate these parking hardships and thus diluting brand Goa. He said people of Goa should be aware that the plans are afoot to tender Mopa Airport without making any arrangements to make land available for parking as part of the ongoing upgradation of the Dabolim Airport.
The Fatorda MLA appealed to all Goans to attend GOEMKAR’s maiden public meeting at Lohia Maidan at 4.30 pm on on the eve of the historic Opinion Poll to once again prevent the indirect merger of Goa into Maharashtra with the destruction of Dabolim and construction of Mopa airports.
Meanwhile, President of Dabolim Airport Black and Yellow Taxis Sandeep Shetye said that the taxi operators would support Goemkar in the fight to retain Dabolim airport and create parking facilities. “There’s no need for another airport at Mopa. The government should create parking facilities at Dabolim instead of building Mopa airport”, he said, while appealing the people to support Goemkar.
