Date:-27/09/2013 To, The Editor, For the favour of publication NAVAL AIRPORT AT KARWAR
Front page headlines in the leading local English & Marathi newspapers have a fortnight back informed the Goan populace of the Navy’s plans to construct a large Naval Airbase at Karwar (Project Seabird Phase II) for stationing Helicopters, Dornier 228 and Mig 29K Aircraft. The news reports further mentioned that Ministry of Defence has sanctioned 1700 crores for this Naval airport project alone. A Marathi Newspaper carried the news under the headline “The road for Dabolim expansion is now clear”. Despite the news appearing more than a fortnight back the leadership of “Goans for Dabolim only” (GFDO) has been strangely quiet for reasons which cannot be fathomed. The GFDO should have welcomed this news, and demanded that the Navy should relocate to Karwar and ask the Goa Government to pay the Navy if required, so that Karwar Naval Airbase takes shape at the earliest. This would be more economical than the huge investment required to be made by Goa Government in a green field Mopa Airport which will be always economically unviable. The Navy is developing the Karwar Naval Base as its principal base on the West Coast. It will be the only port in India exclusively for the Navy for movement, berthing and repair of naval ships, aircraft carriers, destroyers, stealth frigates and submarines. It is obvious to any lay person that in order to protect these vital naval assets the air fleet too will be stationed in their close vicinity i.e. Karwar and not in faraway Dabolim. It was late Matanhy Saldanha’s constant demand that with the Navy taking up the huge Seabird Project at Karwar, 1st Phase of which was commissioned in May 2005, the Navy should relocate to Karwar and hand over the Dabolim Airport under the illegal occupation of the Defence Forces since liberation, to the Civilian authorities so that the civilian aviation activities could be expanded. Despite all the documents available in public space for reasons unknown the GFDO has till date not acknowledged that Dabolim is a civilian airport in illegal occupation of the Defence Forces. If the GFDO is true to its name & wants Dabolim for Goans only, it should immediately demand that the Navy relocate to Karwar at the earliest. Dabolim can then be expanded to meet the requirements of Goa for the next 100 years and there will be no question of any additional / alternate airport coming up. From: Mario Vaz Chinchinim