A five-member team of Airport Authority of India (AAI) along with Jharkhand’s captain SK Sinha Director flight on Wednesday inspected the Chiyanki air strip barely three kilometers away from Daltonganj. The team was assisted by Director Rural Development Palamu, Haider Ali along with a host of other officials.
The AAI Delhi team had Sudesh Sharma (DGM), Ganpati Das (DGM operation), Santanu Panicker (DGM0, SD Tiwary (DGM) and Ganesh Sharma.
Sources said the AAI team inspected the runway, surrounding, took stock of at least two buildings close to the runway, status of existing runways having chips and black top, entry exit, passengers’ lounge, parking safety measures etc.
The team arrived here in two small planes. The Chiyanki air strip is in use for chopper and even Prime Minister Narender Modi has been to this Chiyanki air strip twice in connection with lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections here. There is no night landing facility for even chopper here.
State DGP GK Pandey has always campaigned for the up gradation and face lifting of this air strip which is of high strategic value in the combat with the Maoists here.
Sources said the air strip is to be strengthened and extended for the landing and takeoff of the medium size plane.
Sources said the land on which the Chiyanki air strip is set up belongs to the irrigation department and land which was acquired for it was done when Bihar was undivided. Sources said many related files of land acquisitions are still with bihar’s Aurangabad collectorate. However Circle Officer Sadar Palamu has arranged some map of the land which was shown to the inspecting team.
Sources said the present runway is unfit as for plane the pitch is to be strong and thick as thick as 9 inches to 12 inches.
The team saw two houses built 150 meter away from the existing runway which the team found itching for landing of any big plane in the future.
Chiyanki air strip is sans any boundary wall and a fencing to it is most essential for reason of its getting encroached upon.
About five years back a sum of rupees 62 lakh did reach Palamu for the construction of the boundary wall but the fund remained un spent because of some ticklish land issue.
The team put GPS to use here to find out the longitude, latitude and other things.
Jharkhand building construction corporation has prepared a DPR ( detailed project report) of this air strip and this DPR has been sent to the civil aviation department of the State Government.
