Keonjhar: Residents of mineral-rich Keonjhar district are disgruntled as the two age-old airstrips here have been lying in a neglected condition without any development or expansion.
At a time when several airstrips in the state are being developed under the Udan scheme of the Central government, no effort has been made to revive these old airstrips, locals alleged.
According to reports, while one airstrip is next to the National Highway-20 at Raisuan under Sadar block limits from the bygone royal era in this district, another is located at Tanto under Joda block along the National Highway No-720.
The mines of Keonjhar have given the state a special identity. The district has been on the radar of various mining corporations, both domestic and international, due to its rich reserves of high quality iron ore and other valuable minerals.
Every now and then, representatives and officials of numerous companies fly to this district in helicopters and aircraft. Thus, the need to develop these airstrips is of an essential nature.
It will open up ways for further development of transport and communication in this area and people from all walks of life will be benefitted, the locals argued.
Often road transport becomes risky and time-consuming as hundreds of trucks carrying iron ore ply on these roads. These airstrips, if revived, could be a boon to the people in cases of emergency, they added.
Sources said that these airstrips have been lying obsolete for almost 50 years, while the demand for minerals have been on the rise worldwide.
Although expansion of these airstrips is much more necessary and reasonable, development took place only at the Jharsuguda airport which has been made fully operational.
The step-motherly attitude towards this district has left the locals upset. The airstrip at Raisuan is constructed on 38 acres and is under the Civil Aviation Ministry. The runway here is almost 920 metres long and 30 metres wide and in a good condition.
High-level officials of many mining companies and top-notch government officials, ministers and VIPs frequently land on this runway. This runway is managed by the Works department.
The charge of repair and management of the second airstrip at Tanto has been given to a private mining company. The length of this airstrip is 1,112 metres, while it is 80-metre wide. The runway here is 1,063-metre long.
The capital Bhubaneswar is almost 300 km from the mining region and almost 230 km from Keonjhar district headquarters. That is why these airstrips could be very useful for transporting passengers, especially patients.
If these were developed, the government also can earn additional revenue, Patana MLA Jagannath Nayak said. There are more than 100 mines in this district producing iron ore, manganese, chromite, pyrophyllite etc.
Also the presence of valuable minerals like gold, platinum and bauxite has been detected here. As a result, the district is attracting the world’s attention.
If developed, these airstrips have the potential to be the state’s most important airport, said renowned industrialist of Keonjhar, Debabrata Behera.
Deputy Collector of Keonjhar Santosh Nayak said that the residents of the district would benefit a lot if these airstrips were revived. He assured that the administration will make its utmost effort if any such proposal is received.
PNN
