Team Herald
PERNEM: After more than a decade of trials and tribulations, protestations and peeves and with several lose ends to be still tied up, the Mopa International airport project took formal flight, with the Prime Minster Narendra Modi inaugurating it, and naming after the first name of his “sathi”, former cabinet colleague and former Goa’s Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, calling him “Goa ka ladla” (loved son of Goa).
The Prime Minister said, “In the last eight years, I always said that I will return the love and affection I received from people of Goa with full interest in the form of development. This advanced terminal airport is an attempt to return the love that I received from you. I am happy that the airport is named after my dear friend late Manohar Parrikar. With this name, Manohar will remain alive in the heart of the people/commuters.
Modi dedicated the Greenfield airport to the nation in the presence of Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia, Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Union Minister of State for Ports and Shipping Shripad Naik and others.
Speaking on the occasion, Modi said that this Greenfield international airport will have a massive boost to the air connectivity in the country.
“This project was planned during the Vajpayee government but after Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government, no one did anything for this project. Project remained pending but in 2014, double engine government took forward the work of this airport and today it is a reality. Not only Goa, but people all over had said that Goa needs another airport. We laid the foundation stone in 2016 and now after the challenge of the Covid pandemic, the airport is ready,” he said.
Modi further said that the previous government did not think of the middle-class people and did not invest much in the development of airports. Prior to 2014, the country had 70 airports in 70 years and in the last eight years 72 more airports were constructed. The government worked on two levels, -- first the airport network was expanded throughout the country and second – common citizens got the opportunity for air travel via the UDAN scheme, he mentioned.
“Travelling on an airplane was a luxury in the previous government and middle-class people used to only think about train tickets to travel long distance. The 70-old airports were mostly connected to large cities but improving the air connectivity, we connected most of the airports to small cities,” he added.
“In last eight years, ease of travel was improved. In aviation market, India is at third rank in the world”, Modi claimed.
The Prime Minister pointed out that Manohar International Airport is proof of the changed working style and approach to governance. Today, Goa has become the perfect example of a 100 per cent saturation model, he said.
Scindia in his address said that for the first time in the country two airports have been established in the State.
“We are creating history in Goa by keeping both airports in operation,” he said adding that the new airport, a gateway for both, the State as well as for India, will be a blessing for the local economy.
Soon after inaugurating the Mopa airport, the Prime Minister interacted with the BJP Ministers and MLAs and some core committee members inside the airport terminal and advised them to stay connected with the people. He is learnt to have mentioned that the connect with the people helped the party create a record in the recent Gujarat elections.
It is learnt that Modi told them to connect to people either through schools, youth and mahilas events and development works in their respective constituencies
Later, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant along with the Prime Minister left for Gandhinagar to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel for the second consecutive term on Monday.
Besides Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP State president J P Nadda and at least 20 Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled States will attend the swearing-in ceremony scheduled at Helipad Ground inside the new Secretariat complex at Gandhinagar.