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1. Dr J. Colaco wrote on Oct. 15: <There has been (UNTIL RECENTLY) no avenue for anyone to make a case or hold a discussion (emphasis mine).> This is a positive sign. What is the change of heart due to? Perhaps it is the lobbying by Churchill referred to by a couple of people (though I feel it is just a lot of paper shuffling). Or it is due to the present Navy Commander being supposedly less high handed than his predecessors as pointedly mentioned in earlier postings of the correspondent. Let us fervently hope that efforts to hold discussions and find a way out, keeping uppermost in mind the country's security needs (rather than a petty property dispute), will be fruitful.. 2. Dr J. Colaco also wrote in his Oct 15 posting: <So that ALL of us are on the same page, I am reproducing ...the Churchill Alemao letter of Sept 13, 2004 (empahsis in original).> Either he inadvertently missed the second sentence of my Oct 14 posting or he simply refuses to see it. I DID read the Churchill letter but said that it did not contain the information I was looking for viz what the Dabolim Airport was being used for by the Navy. Thus there is no confirmation of the point that it is simply being used for Naval Training as mentioned in the very end of the letter under reference. 3. There is no disputing that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is having problems handling civilian flights due to Navy restrictions which the correspondent keeps harping on. Everybody knows this. (My point had to do with the earlier diagnosis of "Indian Imperialism", i.e. not just by the Navy). In fact, despite all the polite noises being made about the present Navy Commander being very sensible etc, the Navy seems persistently critical of the AAI in not using the airport during the night hours when the Navy has completely lifted flight restrictions. This is one specific area where a professional (rather than highly charged) dialogue seems necessary and may be fruitful in the long run. The bottom line: Please dont give up on the case so easily and keep trying for a dialogue. Goa's eyes may be upon you!
