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This month's Goanet operations sponsored by Mrs. Daisy Faleiro
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After a long time, HERALD has several items on aviation in one edition.
Today's paper starts of with a headline on the front page in which the
Maharashtra Minister, Narayan Rane, during a rally in Goa, chides Goa for
"scrapping" the Mopa airport project. Quoting the worthy, HERALD says "Now
Maharashtra is in the process of finalising the project and getting it
approved"? What was that again? How can Maharashtra finalise the Mopa
project? Maybe they are working on the on-again off-again Sindhudurg airport
project. It may be possible to have a purely domestic airport there. That's
what we should have in Mopa. But first we have to get the cabinet resolution
of 2000 rescinded, the Mopa blueprint re-cast , Dabolim upgraded etc etc.
The next item is in a column by Ivo Oscar Faleiro. He dwells a bit more on
Dabolim this time. He says "There are ways of packing off this navy for
good from Goa" adding cryptically "if you need these people to do it legally
you can surely find some honest people." The Navy's response (yawn) is
likely to be all too predictable! Get real, Ivo.
We will bypass the report on a US deal for giant military transport planes
(which may operate out of Dabolim some day) to focus on a HERALD report in
which aviation is conspicuous by its absence. In a full page feature titled
"Goa's six deadly sins" in talks about roads and potholes in "V. Travelling
Trauma" but makes no mention of the black hole of Dabolim airport. It also
talks of "VI. Migrant Menace" estimated at 3.3 lakhs in a 2001 population of
14 lakhs i.e. about 25%. They dont need the airport to get into Goa, right?
Cheers.
