http://dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1009843
Mopa airport project in limbo Pushpa Iyengar Saturday, January 28, 2006 01:06 IST GOA: The battle lines within the Congress have been drawn over whether to build an airport at Mopa near the Goa-Maharashtra border or not. Congressmen have gone on the offensive attacking south Goa MP Churchill Alemao. They say Alemao has been opposing the building of airport on the ground that Mopa is further away than the currently-used Dabolim airport and hence 11 five-star hotels in the south will be affected. Congressmen feel Alemao is fighting on behalf of the 5-stars rather than for the south Goa tourism industry. Says Jitendra Deshprabhu, Pernem MLA and GPCC vice-president, whose north Goa constituency stands to gain the most from Mopa, "The conceit with which he opposes such an important development stems from his greed which was amply exposed by the MPLAD sting operation on him. One cannot rule out the possibility of the powerful hoteliers enticing him." The convenor of the Mopa international airport committee Ramakant Khalap says: "Alemao is unwittingly helping Maharashtra. Rane is keen on developing Vengurla and wants an airport at Chippi. Everyone knows about the official interest to develop tourism in the Konkan region and particularly that of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's interest. If foreign tourists are to be diverted, then Sindhudurg must have an airstrip." Khalap adds, "Chippi is 40 km from Mopa." -- Salaam ali kum. Gabe Menezes. London, England