Donyi Polo airport, located in Hollongi, was inaugurated on Saturday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The prime minister had laid the foundation stone of the airport on 9 February, 2019. The inauguration of this airport is a massive achievement for the state. Itanagar for long had the dubious record of being the only state capital not to have an airport of its own. Even though the foundation of the airport was laid way back in 2006, for various reasons the airport project never materialised.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who took over the reins in 2016, had given focus on improving infrastructure in the state. He has played an important role in ensuring that work on Donyi Polo airport is completed on time. Initially, the compensation issue had threatened to derail the project. But the persistence of the CM, and with support from the central government, the airport has seen its day. The people of Hollongi also deserve praise for supporting the project. Now that the airport is done, the focus of the state government should shift towards completing the Itanagar to Banderdewa four-lane highway project. The work on Package B (Papu Nallah to Nirjuli) and Package C (Nirjuli to Banderdewa) is progressing very slowly. Effort should be made to speed up the work of these two prestigious road projects.