We can be confident that the Dabolim/Mopa tussle will make a safe landing. One somehow has a gut feeling that the Airport issue will be resolved on the lines of the Konkani/Marathi agitation.
It was Rane, in his inimitable diplomatic style who declared that Konkani was the official language and Marathi would be used for all official purpose. Likewise, now the very same Rane will declare that Mopa is Goa's International Airport and that Dabolim will be used for national flights. It would be best that politicians keep away from the Airport issue. Let a committee of aviation experts advise on the issue after ascertaining the views of all including Churchill Alemao. May be also an independent body like the Goa Institute of Management should be asked to prepare the feasibility report on both the venues. However the costs of this whole exercise should be Minimal, not like the mind-boggling amount poured down the drain on the commission appointed to study Manohar Parrikar's Miramar beach beautification Plan. It was an idea that should have been aborted before conception. Regardless whether it is Dabolim or Mopa the issue has to be looked on a long term basis, 50 years ahead. One recollects the hue and cry when the Panjim bus stand which was then located opposite Panjim's General Post Office was moved to its present destination. Today one should recognise that the bus stand is too close to a clogged city. Pernem is part of Goa. One should not neglect or mistreat any part of one's body. If by way of an airport the taluka could be enlightened so be it. But the airport noise would be deafening and the tonnes of garbage an airport generates would be there for them to live with. We all want an Airport in the vicinity but no garbage disposal plant in our backyard. In my student days I had hoped that the Goa University would be set up on Kadamba Plateau at Ribandar. Thank God it did not happen. In a two bedroom flat there would have been no place to store all those degrees. Regardless whether it is Dabolim or Mopa we have to make sure that the travelling time between Pernem and Cancona is drastically reduced. An expressway should enable our friends in Pernem to be reach Palolem Beach in Canacona in less than an hour and Sanjay Bandekar, our friend from Canacona,should be able to widen his hobby of turtle-catching to Morjim Beach in North Goa. One has to have a hearty laugh when reading that Churchill Alemao is demanding a referendum on the Airport venue. On what "grounds" he has made such an unsustainable demand one wonders? Has he taken into account the financial implications of a referendum? We could have another couple of "Fatorda grounds" with that money. One is curious why the otherwise so loud and articulate Churchill was so mute on this issue during the last few years of Parrikar's regime when the Mopa idea was being nurtured. We all know about the Rane/ Parrikar nexus. Is there something we should know of the Alemao/Parrikar pact? Mathany Saldhana's silence on the issue is understandable. He was picked and pocketed by Parrikar all the way. The turbulence on the Airport issue has to be controlled. A berth for Churchill in the Union Cabinet with just a single or no portfolio may ease the cabin pressure. Micky Pacheco is asking for a third portfolio. It is obvious that with the recent heavy monsoons, agriculture is not reaping a good crop and that with water all around, animal husbandry has not provided any pure milk - forget the honey. That's the only way to fly high, Micky style. Aires Rodrigues ___________________________________________________________ How much free photo storage do you get? Store your holiday snaps for FREE with Yahoo! Photos http://uk.photos.yahoo.com