VASCO
Former president of Travel and tourism association of Goa (TTAG) Savio Messias said it is very embarrassing to find stray dogs at the airport of a world-class tourist state like Goa.
"The presence of stray dogs on the runway can risk the lives of innocent passengers. You don't need rocket science to keep dogs away from the airport and it only needs a will to do it. I can understand issues caused by birds because they cannot be controlled but controlling dogs from straying on the runaway is a total different story,” said Messias.
“Secondly, Dabolim Airport operates from a Naval enclave and if a dog can infiltrate itself on the runway, anybody else can surely infiltrate the airport as well. We cannot allow dogs on the runway of the airport and blame it on others. It is very embarrassing when dogs are seen all over the airport, specially greeting international tourists on arrival," said Messias.
Recalling that he had been a member of the Airport Advisory Committee for around seven years, Messias said the dog menace had been discussed every single year but nothing much happened been done in the matter.
“We have to control garbage and ensure that the gaps allowing the dogs to enter the airport are closed. I don’t think we need sophisticated equipment for this. It seems that this is a simple problem that is not being sorted out and we are taking this very lightly,” said Messias.
