“Will he come? Or will he follow his alliance partners, theruling BJP?” Rodrigues wonders. But his worry of each side getting to have itssay inthe debate on Dabolim-Mopa conundrum fades away. However the truth ofMopa stunned the hundred odd people from all over Goa including Mopa airportaffected
Goan polity’s state of disconnect with Mopa’s reality becamequite evident in the first part of a path breaking debate where three media organisationsacross the web, print and television space “ Goachronicle.com, The Goan andPrudent Media “ came together to engage in a free flowing debate raging issuesover the new international airport Mopa and its most obvious victim, thecurrent Dabolim airport.
The cast was well chosen. Former Executive DirectorsAirports Authority of India R C Khurana and Raghuvendra Rao, India’s formerChief Town Planner Edgar Ribeiro, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry ChairmanManguirish Pai Raikar and Tourism industry representative Avito Gomes lockedhorns. The debate was significant as, while Khurana was the man who headed theCommittee to decide upon Goa’s exclusive civilian airport, Ribeiro was the man whowrote Goa’s Draft Regional Plan 2021.
Both men being candid and scientificc in their approach whenthey presented their views to the government and both disappointed when truthbecame casualty to systemic greed in their final reports.
“Mopa cannot have an airport because it does not satisfy thesafety parameters on three of the sides of the proposed greenfield airport,”said Khurana. The observations of the man who first evaluated the aviation of theairport site stumped pundits alike because the Mopa debate has been viewed outhere more in terms of land acquisition and north-south political divide. Thistruth was different. Goa Government’s own disconnect with technical reality ofthe airport site was quite evident and both its’ representatives Pawan Kumar Sain,Director “ Mopa Airport and Anand Sherkhane, Director “ PPP Cell chose to toethe government line and shied away from the debate. The men who lacked aviationexperience could have well learnt a few real flying lessons out here.
Meanwhile Rao who did some plainspeak on Dabolim Mopacoexistence.
“There was no question of a second airport for Goa.Experiences at Bengaluru and Secundrabad have well proved that it is a hugeeconomic unviability,” explained Rao.
What also emerged at the debate was the fact that ProjectMopa was all along looked as Goa’s exclusive civilian airport in view ofproblems faced as Dabolim was a military airport.
The plainspeak of the AAI duo also brought to the fore thefact that either Mopa or Dabolim can exist in isolation. In the absence of thegovernment, the GCCI ended up championing the Mopa cause. “You need Mopa forcargo and to stem the exodus of 82 percent of Goan youth who migrate every yearfor job prospects every year”, emphasised Pai Raiker. Pai Raiker who could havewell explained why Goa’s premier business body was unable to stem this exodus,was stumped by Gomes who listed out examples of smaller airports than Dabolim withlesser capacity as handling more passengers. The debate was lopsided in thefavour of truth as Mopa kite flying began and ended with the GCCI Boss.
With expert opinion neatly sealed, the political andemotional issue of the conundrum took stage. Congress Legislature PartySpokesman Reginaldo Lourenco, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardessai and Dabolim MLAMauvin Godinho faced the issue of dual standards between Mopa and Dabolim as Editorin Chief of The Goan, Sujay Gupta took on them with evidences in support. “Ireiterate that Dabolim de-notification was a scam that the former governmentbegan and the current one has carried forward”, emphasised Reginaldo as helooked at his senior partner from Dabolim, Godinho, for answers that whole of Goaneeded.
Faced with damning evidence of how a government institutedfraud had restored land rights to an influential Bernard Costa for the firsttime in a public debate, the former Congress Devil’s Advocate was leftsearching for words. “I was only helping one of my constituents who had moved infrom USA to get back his lands,” was Godinho’s reply, as the public debate wentinto an intense battle of words and angry exchanges between Mauvin and Vijai,the latter smugly wondering if the former was defending Goa’s BJP Government inits absence.
“Mathany’s legacy has been compromised by the samegovernment which rode into power on his ideals,” said Sardessai. He then listedout outstation agencies who had bought large tracts of land adjoining the MopaAirport site. The public eye turned towards Mauvin whose brother Wilson hasbeen frequently mentioned in media for being the single largest buyer of landin Mopa.
“My brother has bought just one piece of land in 2007, whichhe sold back”, said Mauvin in defence as the debate ended inclusively. Thereason of the first debate was non-evident in the second one but The Goan did manageto get more ayes against the manner in which land acquisition is taking placein Mopa as the usual suspects got cornered publicly into committing more forthe landlosers of Mopa.
