Goa CM to take up airport mismanagement issue with centre

Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Monday promised to take up the issue of the repair and maintenance of Dabolim international airport with the central government.

Parsekar made the promise after legislators came up with a list of grievances and a ruling legislator called the airport "one of the worst".

He told members during question hour on the first day of the Goa assembly's monsoon session that the recent collapse of a false ceiling at the airport, in which two people were injured, had forced him to take up the matter with the central government.

"A lot of problems have come up in the new terminal. Open discharge of dirty water, poor level of hygiene, the toilets stink, the carpet is soiled, the air conditioner is not working often," Parsekar said summing up the complaints made by legislators and the public.

Parsekar said he had also received complaints about the staff being non-co-operative, but also added that his experience was different.

"There is a complaint that the staff is non-cooperative and unfriendly. But I have not faced this. When I go there I get refreshments quickly," said the chief minister.

Parsekar said a meeting with union civil aviation ministry officials would be held within a "couple of weeks".

"After that incident (the false ceiling collapse), this cannot carry on. We will have to act. Two passengers were injured. Luckily when it happened there were only a few passengers there. If it had happened during peak hour, it could have been a big tragedy," Parsekar said.

Two people were injured on July 18 after the false ceiling in the security hold area at Goa's only airport collapsed.

Earlier, Congress MLA Mauvin Godinho and ruling BJP legislator Vishnu Wagh criticised the functioning and maintenance at the airport, with the latter calling the facility "one of the worst airports".

The new terminus, which caters to domestic and international tourists at Dabolim airport was built at a cost of Rs. 345 crore and was formally commissioned in 2014.