<The aviation sector is set to witness a huge growth in Karnataka, if all the proposals of the State Government to establish the infrastructure come through. While the Government recently gave approval for the establishment of 20 helipads in various locations in the State, nearly half-a-dozen small airports are in various stages of planning. This is in addition to the five operational airports - Bangalore, Mangalore, Hubli, Belgaum and Bellary. ... If one goes by the statements of the State government in the last few months, Karnataka is planning to develop airports at Shimoga, Gulbarga, Hassan and Bijapur. ... The Government also plans to make use of the Defence airports at Bidar and Karwar. In this regard, the Karnataka Chief Minister recently requested the Defence Minister to permit the movement of civilian aircraft from Bidar. Following this, the Defence Minister has given approval for the development of Bidar airport for civilian aircraft movement.> http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/03/19/stories/2007031901000600.htm This is the story from Karnataka. Meanwhile Maharashtra is not resting on its haunches. The Civil Aviation Minister is from Maharashtra and he is doing all he can to give aviation in his state a boost --- cargo hub at Nagpur, Boeing's MRO base at Nagpur, international status for Pune civil enclave, modernisation of Mumbai, second airport for Mumbai etc etc. If Goa can move on a domestic airport at Mopa it will have a ready-made network for it (Mopa) to connect with. And this could be completely non-overlapping with Dabolim's domestic network. The result would be balanced development of Goa.
