Margao: After having raked up a controversy by calling north Indian tourists visiting Goa "scum of the earth", town and country planning minister Vijai Sardesai said on Saturday that all airlines coming into the state should make inflight announcements in Konkani or they would not be allowed to land.
Sardesai, who is also the president of Goa Forward Party an ally of Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government, said Goa was not just for tourists.
"If there is no announcement in Konkani when a flight lands at Goa airport, then all these airlines should be stopped. We should project our language first," he said, exhorting the youth wing of his party to take up the issue.
Sardesai said Konkani is a unifier for Goans. "At Goa airport, there is no board that gives instructions in Konkani language. No announcement happens in Konkani. Is Goa airport only for tourists?" he said. He added that the usage of Konkani language at the airport is also a must.
Sardesai said he is not demanding that inflight announcements in Hindi and English languages be discontinued, but only demanding that they be made in Konkani too. In early February, Sardesai had said the heavy influx of north Indian tourists was making it difficult for the state to address the issue of garbage and cleanliness and they were trying to "convert Goa into Gurgaon" and called domestic tourists "scum of the earth".
Following Sardesai's remarks, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had called his Goa counterpart Manohar Parrikar and lodged a strong protest.
On Saturday, Sardesai who unveiled a plaque to name a city square after his sister at his own constituency, spoke about the anguish she had once expressed over increased projection of casinos at the airports but absence of Konkani from the inflight announcements and signboards at the airport.
23/12/18 Times of India
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Sardesai, who is also the president of Goa Forward Party an ally of Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government, said Goa was not just for tourists.
"If there is no announcement in Konkani when a flight lands at Goa airport, then all these airlines should be stopped. We should project our language first," he said, exhorting the youth wing of his party to take up the issue.
Sardesai said Konkani is a unifier for Goans. "At Goa airport, there is no board that gives instructions in Konkani language. No announcement happens in Konkani. Is Goa airport only for tourists?" he said. He added that the usage of Konkani language at the airport is also a must.
Sardesai said he is not demanding that inflight announcements in Hindi and English languages be discontinued, but only demanding that they be made in Konkani too. In early February, Sardesai had said the heavy influx of north Indian tourists was making it difficult for the state to address the issue of garbage and cleanliness and they were trying to "convert Goa into Gurgaon" and called domestic tourists "scum of the earth".
Following Sardesai's remarks, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had called his Goa counterpart Manohar Parrikar and lodged a strong protest.
On Saturday, Sardesai who unveiled a plaque to name a city square after his sister at his own constituency, spoke about the anguish she had once expressed over increased projection of casinos at the airports but absence of Konkani from the inflight announcements and signboards at the airport.
23/12/18 Times of India
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