Margao, Oct 26 (TNN): Stakeholders in the tourism industry across the Salcete coastal belt and villagers from Benaulim held a protest rally on Saturday followed by a meeting where they unanimously opposed the Mopa airport.

While Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco was the lone MLA present who supported the rally, BJP MLAs and MLAs supporting the government came under criticism for failing to take up the demands of the people even as the government is going ahead with the project full steam.

The members echoed the statements of Goans For Dabolim Only (GFDO) and felt that the second airport at Mopa would lead to the closure of Dabolim and the eventual destruction of the tourism industry. Fr Eremito Rebello, convenor of GFDO called on the MLAs to withdraw support to the government for going ahead with the Mopa airport. They further condemned chief minister Manohar Parrikar for trying to create a divide between South Goa and North Goa and health minister Laxmikant Parsekar for playing down the apprehensions of locals on how Mopa can help Sindhudurg. The public called for action to save Dabolim airport and promised to support GFDO as they moved to village to village.

Earlier in the evening, tourism stakeholders from Benaulim along with the Benaulim Village Action Committee (BVAC) held a 'peaceful march' to protest and oppose the government's resolve to build the new airport. Benaulim taxi owners took the initiative to hold the symbolic march together with all stakeholders in the tourism industry. Representatives of guesthouse owners, restaurateurs, shack owners, water sports operators and taxi owners together with their families, set out from their respective vaddos (wards) and converged at the open space in front of Holy Trinity Church.

The villagers, thereafter, marched peacefully march to the panchayat premises where a memorandum will be handed over to the Benaulim panchayat. The theme of the march was 'Mopa never, Dabolim forever'. However, the crowd that turned up was not as large as expected.