ITANAGAR, Feb 7: Member of Parliament from eastern parliamentary constituency Ninong Ering has written to Minister of Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi Raju seeking current status of Hollongi (Itanagar), Tezu and Pasighat airports.
In the letter, Ering, while drawing the attention of the union minister towards delay in completion of these airports, wrote, ‘The undergoing aviation projects in Arunachal Pradesh, once completed, will be very beneficial for the state. Currently, three such projects are underway either in planning phase or implementation phase. Considering the importance of these projects for the people of Arunachal Pradesh, I am writing this letter to know their current status.’
Further, Ering wrote that Arunachal Pradesh is yet to get an operational airport and has termed the situation as dismal and sought special attention from the central government towards improving air connectivity in the state.
Connectivity and infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh must be of prime importance under the UDAN Scheme. Arunachal Pradesh requires state of art infrastructure as far as air connectivity is concerned, Ering added.
He also said that if the regional connectivity scheme, UDAN is properly implemented, it can deliver hosts of benefits by fulfilling untapped demand for convenient travel, facilitating businesses and trade, thereby unlocking India’s tourism potential and promoting national integration.
Ering also expressed hope that the ministry of civil aviation will give top priority to Hollongi (Itanagar), Tezu and Pasighat airport projects considering the urgent need of aviation infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh.
The state government claims that Arunachal’s first civilian airport at Tezu is on the verge of completion, while Pasighat ALG is also being developed as civilian airport.
However, the state government as well as ministry of civil aviation is silent over the Hollongi airport issue. The said airport is mired in controversy for the last many years.
Initially, the proposed site for airport was selected as Karsingsa but due to technicalities, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) rejected it and asked the state government to locate some other site for the airport.
Accordingly, Hollongi was selected but soon it got caught in legal complications. However, a technical committee constituted by ministry of civil aviation selected Hollongi as permanent site for airport. But for the last four years, nothing has moved and Itanagar continues to remain as the only capital in India not to have an airport.
