The Editor, Herald, Panaji, Goa Sir,
Contrary to the impression sought to be propagated by Robert Castellino, the Mopa issue is not one concerning South Goa only, but the entire state and its tourism industry. Mopa will serve as the international airport for Sindhudurg for some time to come since Chipi is only a domestic airport. Besides, Goa’s most well known and most successful tourism spots which have been located in North Goa have been well served by Dabolim Airport in the past. In the circumstances therefore, it would be well for North Goans to also oppose the unnecessary private airport of Mopa tooth and nail. Also, while it is true that GFDO does have a core committee member who is a Catholic priest, it is also made up of other members hailing from all different parts of Goa, including the North and from different communities of the state. I know that the GFDO convenor has been urging the Goan electorate to keep Mopa in mind whilst casting its vote, but am unaware of the Church per se “appealing to people to vote only for candidates who are against Mopa” as Mr. Castellino claims. It is curious why Mr. Castellino insults his North Goan compatriots by finding it “desirable that clergymen from the south should sniff out land scams in Mopa and assist farmers to get their true value”. Why does he think that his fellow North Goans are incapable of standing up for themselves and their community? With regard to the Konkan Railway, perhaps Mr. Castellino is not aware that cumulative losses of the KRC are nine time the original equity and the KRC has been kept afloat by a subsidy of around Rs.350 crores annually for thirteen years. It has also not been able to live up to the number of trains and their average speeds that had been originally projected thanks to its incomprehensible alignment. That it has brought in certain benefits in terms of passenger traffic is not in dispute. But all this could have been achieved without the attendant environmental damage and loss to the public exchequer if only the sane voices proposing changes in the alignment had been heeded. In the ultimate analysis we are all Goans and need to remain united if we are to effectively stem the mayhem we see all around us and the ruthless plunder of our state and its resources that is being passed off as “development”. Creating division amongst ourselves, either on the basis of North and South or communities, castes and religions can be nothing but destructive and counter productive. Diana Pinto
