Hospice9 hours ago
The biggest problem facing the extension of Kangra Airport in Himachal Pradesh and increasing the length of the runway has been resolved. The biggest problem in the extension of the runway was due to Manjhi Khad. Now permission has been given to lengthen the runway by making an overbridge on this section.
The Kangra DC-led committee had approached the Pune-based Central Water Energy Research Center (CWPRS) for this. CWPRS experts have submitted their report to DC after conducting research on Manjhi Khad. In this, approval has been given to increase the length of the runway by making a concrete bridge over Manjhi Khad.
3KM long runway to be built in two phases
At present, the runway of Kangra Airport is 1376 meters long. In the first phase, its length will be increased to 1900 metres. It will be increased to 3,010 meters in the second phase. After the runway is more than 3 kilometers long, even big planes like Airbus 320 will be able to land comfortably here. This will increase the connectivity of Kangra to other parts of the country and air travel will be cheaper.
Dr. Nipun Jindal, DC Kangra.
The entire Gaggal market will come under the purview
The runway of Kangra airport is very short. Only 72 seater ships can land here with a load penalty. As the day progresses, it becomes more difficult to operate air services here as the effect of heating air comes on the load penalty. This is the reason that at present most of the flights from here are in the morning only.
The length of the runway is to be increased to 3010 meters during the extension of the airport. However, in the first phase, it will be made 1900 meters long. In the second phase, the entire Gaggal market will also come under its ambit.
In order to increase the length of the runway, apart from building an overbridge on the Manjhi bridge, the proposed Pathankot-Mandi forelane will also have to be diverted slightly.
1200 houses and structures on 147 hectares of land
A total of 147 hectares of land is to be acquired for the airport extension. Out of this, 122 hectares of land is private and 25 hectares is government land. This includes forest and other types of land. Kangra DC Dr. Nipun Jindal told that the land will be acquired in two phases. One thousand crore rupees will be needed in the first phase and Rs 2500 crore in the second phase.
The land to be acquired comes under Kangra and Shahpur sub-divisions. There are 1200 houses and structures on this land. They will be given compensation as per the government manual. According to the circle rate, its compensation works out to Rs 223 crore. The valuation of the first phase has been done and the work on the valuation of the second phase is going on.
Due to the short runway of Kangra Airport, only small planes can land here.
Work will start in 3-4 months
According to the Kangra Airport Authority, the extension work will start in the next 3-4 months. For this, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has given the responsibility of Techno-Economic Feasibility Study to WAPCOS Limited Company. The Social Impact Assessment (SIA) will be carried out by the Himachal Pradesh Institute of Public Administration (HIPA).
Surveys of both the agencies are going on. After this, Wapcos company will conduct radar and geo technical survey. As soon as the report of both the agencies comes, the administration will start the process of acquiring the land. More than 339 houses coming in the way of increasing the length of the runway will be demolished.
339 houses will collapse
PWD has identified 339 such houses which are coming in the way of extension of airport and runway. Of these, 177 houses belong to Kangra, 155 houses to Dharamshala and 7 houses to Shahpur area. Urban and regional planner Ujjwal Sharma of Wapcos Limited, a company conducting techno-economic feasibility study regarding the airport, said that the report will be submitted as soon as the radar and geo technical survey is done.
local jobs will be created
Spread over 1269 acres, Kangra Airport is at an altitude of 2492 feet above sea level. The existing runway here is 1372 meters long and 30 meters wide. Only 72 seater ATR aircraft can operate on this runway. If the length of the runway is increased to 2050 meters, then even a big plane like Airbus 320 will be able to land here, in which 167 passengers can sit.
Presently there is facility to park 2 ships at Kangra Airport. There is 100 acres of government land with the airport, out of which 41 hectares will be acquired.
With the landing of big ships, where tourists will increase, employment will also be generated. The work of taxi operators will increase. Tourist spots of Kangra Valley which are yet to be explored, tourists will be able to go there.
Work on other projects will also be faster
The extension of Kangra Airport, which is important for tourism and the security of the country, was being discussed for a long time, but now it has got the final approval. The work of extension of the airport is divided into two phases.
Some other projects were also stuck due to lack of clarity on the extension of the airport. The work on the Pathankot-Mandi four-laning was also suspended from Banoi Chowk to Matour for the same reason. Some part of the selected land for IT park was also coming under the jurisdiction of airport extension.