In the post titled "Bombshell or editorial bungle?" I omitted to mention a couple of other titbits from the HERALD report of July 6 on four lane alignment.
One of these read as follows: "The Rane government perusing [sic] the matter is seeking assistance of the Indian Navy." One would be entitled to wonder what the Navy has to do with the alignment of the proposed four lane highway for which reportedly 3 options were being considered. In the next para it said: "The chief minister also stated that the government is making efforts to expedite the work on the Mopa airport." Period. [Then the last bit about not wanting the Navy to shift out of Dabolim]. Astoundingly, today's Goa Plus (Times of India supplement) links the whole thing together in the following sentence: "[Rear Admiral Shekhar Sinha, Flag Officer Goa Area] clarified that the Navy had assisted in the mapping of the new airport at Mopa, the extent of the runway and other logistics. Its experts had also suggested possible road alignments connected with the airport [Mopa?] including the national highway." So its not a case of mere ignorance of or indifference to Dabolim on the part of the Goa govt as is generally believed. It may well be a case of active intrigue in which the Navy is calling the shots about civil aviation in Goa and hardly anybody seems to be in the know! Moreover, what special competence the Navy has in airport design or even road planning is beyond my ken. I hope goanetters are aware of what seems to be going on between the government and the Navy.