1. "Tale of Two Airports" by Sylvester da Cunha, Sunday HERALD, Feb 5, 2006.
This is a fine satirical piece lampooning the lively Dabolim-Mopa debate. It provides interesting food for thought. The author writes: "The Dabolim-Mopa fight is not simply a Churchill-Rane scrap. Its more Navy versus Civilian or more precisely Ministry of Defence versus Ministry of Civil Aviation. " Sure. That's why the review is apparently being done in two phases. The first, lasting three months, will deal with the state level differences. The next, covering the remaining period, will presumably deal with the central govt differences, if any. The question at the state level is whose side is Churchill on, the Defence Ministry's or Civil Aviation Ministry's?! Opposing Mopa as he is doing is not in either side's interests! The Defence Ministry will have to continue to live with the civil enclave at Dabolim and the Civil Aviation Ministry will have to do without Mopa. Churchill needs to modify his stance to allow both to function -- over the LONG term. This means right-sizing both airports for viable evolution together. The next interesting point in the article is about land values. It hints at the deal being really a game of land sharks who corner property at low prices on the periphery of planned airports and make a killing re-selling them. However no mention is made of the powerful hoteliers lobby which is opposed tooth and nail to closure of civilian operations at Dabolim. Finally, in an implicit extension of the above, the concluding line dramatically says that the CM of Goa has already resigned over the whole issue. It implies that the principal role of the state government in this matter is as a cabal for land sharks (vs hotel lobby?) -- due to govt control over land purchases and sales -- and nothing else. Not a whisper about the economic value of an airport (or two) to a state! 2. "Mopa and politicians" a letter to the editor by S. Kamat of Porvorim, HERALD, Monday Feb 6, 2005. Let's take the writer's first suggestion that an opinion poll should be conducted to determine what the ordinary people of Goa actually consider to be their top priorities. He assumes that an airport wll be lowest in the list as "he may never use it". Firstly, civil aviation is a central not a state subject even though the state does have an important role in the identification and operation of a new airport. The identification was done nearly a decade ago. Where was the author at that time? Secondly, with the appearance of low cost carriers on the scene even the common man is able to fly instead of taking arduous car, bus and train rides. So all steps possible should be taken in a concerted way to facilitate the development of not just one but two full fledged airports, both for the long term. Sure, the people should actively participate in this long term process instead of sitting on the sidelines like spectators in a football match. The author makes some interesting points about the runways for aircraft used by charter operators. He may however be mistaken in thinking that international charters use Boeing 737s as I think these, with their two engines, may not be considered suitable for overseas flights. More importantly, it may not be necessary to assume that there is no scope for sharing of charter flights between Dabolim and Mopa given the snail's pace at which the military is facilitating expansion of civil traffic at Dabolim. Finally, the writer has swallowed whole the politician's line that "an upgrade of Dabolim has been promised" that too to the tune of Rs 500 crores. I would prefer to believe that when I actually see it!
