Some reactions that are intended to carry the discussion forward instead of spinning wheels polemically: 1. <When Mopa was thought of, its not as though Goa did not have an Airport; if fact Goa had international flights in addition to Domestic/ national flights.> Mopa was thought of in 1997. In 2000 the Union Cabinet resolved that when Mopa was ready Dabolim would be closed. This was announced in Goa! So the idea all along was to close the civil enclave at Dabolim. 2. <And of course the Navy should see 'the writing on the wall', and realise that 'their hour is near' and run gracefully> In view of (1) above, it would seem that it is the hotel lobby that has to see the impending closure once Mopa goes onstream and start moving! 3. <If in case, the Consultancy tells us that Goa may need another airport in the future, (this I doubt very much) and if the same is permitted by aviation safety rules etc; then Goa could then present another site, within Goa. I would suggest some place in Canacona or Ponda;> For Mopa, an NOC was obtained from the Navy. Perhaps that was the furthest it could go from Dabolim and still keep the airport IN Goa. (Goa would have to have an airport after all once Dabolim was closed). It is unlikely that it would grant an NOC for any other location either in central Goa or especially in the south towards Karwar/Seabird. 3. <Business and tourists and people from South and Eastern Goa are not complaining and opposing Mopa, just for the sake of it; but precisely because Goa already has a potentially great Dabolim location for an airport. Why duplicate the exiisting infrastructure and build a 'White Elephant'??> Sure, Dabolim is a great location and needs to be upgraded rapidly in this era of economic expansion and low cost air travel. But first that pesky Union Cabinet resolution has to be reversed. Then the Mopa plan has to be drastically modified so that it and Dabolim can work in tandem for the long haul without one or the other becoming a white elephant or dodo. The problem at present is that no one is willing to buy the idea that the Mopa plan developed by ICAO/ADPI is seriously flawed and needs to be jettisoned and redone. Everyone is banking on getting the blessing of the PM (under the advice of both the Defense Mnister AND Civil Aviation Minister) to push the present design through come hell or high water. The thinking is that what's the big deal if a dozen big hotels are affected by the closure of Dabolim? In fact, as Churchill rightly senses, the whole shift would represent a massive discontinuity for Goa's society and economy and a huge increase in military tourism both of which should be avoided like the plague. Hence the need of the hour is to modify the Mopa plan drastically, upgrade Dabolim rapidly, get the flightless Seabird to take-off expeditiously, improve/create surface transport links between Mopa and Dabolim with minimum disruption to traffic flows etc etc. All this requires everyone in power to sweat a bit instead of taking the easy way out and going for short cuts. A little work out along the above lines will tone up the entire economy and society of the state. That at least is the fervent hope! Cheers.
