Poojary demands runway extension by 350m

Poojary demands runway extension by 350m

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, May25:  B. Janardhana Poojary, the former union minister, urged the state and union governments to take immediate steps to improve the infrastructure of Mangalore International Airport and make it safer. He also demanded a memorial to be constructed at the airport in honor of the plane crash victims. Poojary was addressing press people on Monday.

Simultaneously, Poojary warned activists against hindering development by questioning the existence of the airport, which was essential for the existence of the special economic zone. He reminded people that all efforts made to find flat land for an airport 30 years ago were unsuccessful.

Poojary said that the 2,450m runway was safe because it had already witnessed over 32,000 landings and take offs within the last 4 years. Demanding the extension of the runway to 350m, he pointed out that the civil aviation ministry has already announced plans to extend the runway to 300m. Despite the fact that the airport has enough land to extend the airport by 300m, Poojary said that 50 acres of land will have to be acquired to extend the runway to 350m. 

Poojary urged CM B. S. Yeddyurappa to visit the airport and direct the DC to acquire the required land. He opined that spending an additional Rs 20 crore to fill up a valley will not create a strain on the finances of the nation. He added that the state government, which gives large sums of money to religious institutions, can contribute too. 

Urging Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to be more “assertive,” he said that he had proposed the extension of the runway back in 2006 when he was the MP standing committee on civil aviation and tourism. He had even written to Mr. Patel regarding the issue, in spite of which the runway has not been extended, he added.