The Ganjam Zilla Bikash Manch has urged BJP national president Amit Shah to take steps for inclusion of the historical Brahmapur Airport, which was active during the Second World War, in the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik) scheme.
The Manch submitted a memorandum to Shah in this regard during his visit to the city on Tuesday.
Mentioning that the historical small airport at Rangeilunda has never been looked upon by any of the Governments at the Centre and the State, the Manch said the airport deserves to get included in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s UDAN scheme in view of the city’s importance in respect of business and daily visits of people from different cities of the country.
“Brahmapur is the business heartland of Ganjam and its adjoining districts. Apart from this, hundreds of businessmen come to the city from Delhi, Mumbai, Raipur, Kakinada, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar every day. About 15 lakh people from Ganjam are staying in big cities like Surat and Mumbai. If flights operate from the city, it would help them a lot,” said the Manch.
It further stated that as an IISER, the Air Defence College, two big universities, the Berhampur University and the Khalikotte Cluster University, 15 engineering colleges and around 30 general colleges are operational in the city and its adjoining areas, teachers and outside students can be benefited if flight operates from the city.
These apart, many projects have been proposed to come up in and around the city. Projects like sea port at Arjipali, special economic zone of the Tata Company and ecological tourist hub at Gopalpur to name a few, Shah was appraised.
“In view of all these important aspects, we request you to include the Brahmapur Aairport in the UDAN scheme so that different aero-planes can fly to the benefit of both local people and visitors and businessmen,” urged
the Manch.