<It is not my intent to opine on Goa's Airport issue. This appears to be consuming Goans both in the native land and in the Diasporas. Yet this issue and a few others about Goan attitude to Goa's government intrigues me...Goan politicians are smart enough to make policy decisions and the people have to respect their decisions. Or else every Pedro, Gabru and Forcu in each village and in every Diaspora will have fifteen opinions on the airport and every issue connected with Goa. Fifteen cooks will ruin the soup - guaranteed. >[Gilbert Lawrence]
All the hullabaloo can probably be better understood if we look at the situation as a three-ring circus. [No doubt it would be utterly comical if the consequences were not so serious for the state and its future development]. In one ring you have a pseudo, slow motion tug-of-war between military training flights and civilian flights at Dabolim. I say pseudo because the Navy seems to be actually giving an inch of ground every few years (a few sq m of apron space, night landing aids, relaxation of charter flight restrictions on Fridays etc) after a lot of (simulated?) huffing and puffing by the parties concerned. In the next ring you have shadow boxing, a free for all that is very visible as the opening remark illustrates. This is about Mopa and especially its catchment area and ground transportation links. In the third ring you have a magic show featuring the Navy and its "now-you see-it-now you dont" act about the airfield/helipad at Seabird. I would be interested to know especially from our overseas Goan friends in supposedly progressive climes what the role should be of a "democratic government in a republican context" in this tragi-comic situation. Cheers.
