the government is going ahead full steam on its pet project which happens to be mopa airport it appears that this project has now become the topmost priority for the government the question to be asked is whether mopa airport was mentioned anywhere in the party election manifesto which is the 20122017 goa vision document if not why is such undue haste being shown in getting this project underway when there are other projects of more vital importance which need immediate attention since there is objection to the project from certain quarters and as it is a major project let there be a referendum on the issue let goans decide whether they indeed need two airports or whether dabolim airport will suffice it is understood that dabolim airport is presently underutilized adelmo fernandesbe clear on illegal and legal it was distressing to read congress mla mauvin godinho demand regularization of illegal structures on comunidade land even as he pressed for the passing of a law in the assembly making construction of illegal structures on comunidade land a criminal offence even more ominous is chief minister manohar parrikars promise to protect moti dongor denizens within the parameters of law illegal in my lexicon clearly means contrary to the law and as for the cms declaration that illegal constructions on government property would not be permitted in future perhaps our mlas have not yet realized that the future begins right now unanimously getting together and passing resolutions on special status for goa does not carry any conviction or sincerity if the message is not sent out unambiguously that illegalities especially on community land will not be tolerated humanitarian grounds should be applied by our mlas more to law abiding goans and their environment rather than law breakers diana pintoprevention is better than cure the information of 14263 cases of dog bites and 126 crore spent by the government on antirabies vaccines last year drew a surprisingly mild response from our elected representatives there is no prevention better than cure attitude besides what is already in force has proved most impractical and inadequate no new solutions or ideas were discussed monkeys are seen in panaji and goan villages are suffering the monkey menace what are our forest veterinary and health departments doing we have leopards and big cats even in vasco we thoughtlessly keep destroying and encroaching on the animals habitats and forests john eric gomesmeasures required to reduce vehicle numbers india may have succeeded to some extent in controlling the population growth the same cannot be said about the growth of vehicles in goa the number of vehicles has increased by leaps and bounds this has also led to an acute shortage of parking space if we do not take some drastic measures now in five years time the state could be facing a problem of gargantuan proportions in the modern world a fourwheeler is no longer a luxury but a necessity it may not be possible to put a cap on