AIRPORT SCENE
>> A large number of people had gathered to catch a glimpse of the chief minister
>> A strong posse of policemen was also deployed at the airport to maintain security
>> Taxi drivers and hotel reps were directed to to stay clear from the Arrival Gate
>> DGP Muktesh Chander was also at the airport to greet the chief minister on his arrival
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VASCO/PANAJI: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar arrived at the Dabolim airport on Thursday evening, after being away for about 10 days in the US where he is being treated at New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre.
Parrikar arrived by an Air India flight from Mumbai accompanied by both his sons, Utpal and Abhijat, amidst tight police security. He walked straight to his waiting car and was driven to his private residence at Dona Paula.
A large number of people, anticipating his arrival, had gathered near the airport to catch a glimpse of the chief minister. A strong posse of policemen drawn from police stations across Mormugao taluka was also deployed at the airport to maintain security.
PIs Nolasco Raposo and Shailesh Narvekar and their staff were seen maintaining a cordon and clearing the way for the chief minister.
The taxi drivers and hotel reps were directed to make way for the chief minister and to stay clear from the Arrival Gate no 2 of the Dabolim Airport. Traffic police at the airport were also seen making sure that private vehicles and taxis did not block the CM's convoy at the airport.
DGP Muktesh Chander was also at the airport to greet the chief minister on his arrival.
Parrikar on arrival walked straight into his car and proceeded directly to his private residence in Dona Paula.
Parrikar had departed for New York, less than 48 hours after returning from there on August 22. He had returned to Goa after spending about a fortnight there for follow-up treatment for about 10 days post the Monsoon session of the Goa legislature which ended on August 3. He had earlier spent more than three months in New York between March and June.
On August 22 he returned to Goa carrying the urns of ashes of the former Prime Minister Late Atal Behari Vajpayee. But he was immediately flown back to a Mumbai hospital the next afternoon because of what the CMO said was fatigue due to jet lag and indigestion. He then proceeded to USA from Mumbai accompanied by his two sons on August 30.
His most recent spell of absence from the State has prompted a wave of criticism from the Opposition who claimed that the administration had collapsed. It also triggered round of claims and counter-claims by both the Opposition Congress and the BJP that MLAs from the other side were prepared to cross the aisles.
