Goa Tourism Minister writes to Raju, Rajnath over shoddy airport terminal

Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar on Friday sought the intervention of Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapatu Raju seeking remedial action to address the "alarming condition" of the state's Dabolim International Airport

"The tourism industry of the state is alarmed and concerned at the lack of world class facilities at the Goa airport which receives thousands of international travellers," said Parulekar in a formal communication to the central minister.

He said that the terminal which was inaugurated just less than two years ago, was already facing a host of problems like "below par housekeeping services, limited food outlets, poor quality work which resulted in collapse of the false ceiling, lack of bus bays etc" and requested Raju's intervention to ensure that the issues were tackled on "top priority" ahead of the 2016-17 tourism season, which begins in October.

In another letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Parulekar also sought an increase in the number of immigration counters at the international airport.

"There is inadequate number of counters leading to long queues of tourists and is causing hardships," he said, adding that there was "a need to review the functioning of the immigration offices at the Dabolim Airport which is currently reeling under pressure due to insufficient staff".

Goa, a top beach tourism destination in the country, annually attracts nearly four million tourists out of which half a million are foreigners.

--IANS

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