The much-awaited Naini- Saini airstrip in Pithoragarh may further miss its latest deadline of March 2015 with the release of only a little over 50 percent of the total fund by the State Government so far for the completion of the project.
The delay in completion of the airstrip may also clip the wings of a 48- seater aircraft for the time being which is expected to go on its maiden flight to the aforesaid borer district soon after completion of this airbase.
The Naini-Saini airstrip is a Rs 48 crore project out of which only Rs 25 crore has been released by the State Government so far, the officials concerned of the Uttarakhand Infrastructure Development Corporation (UIDC), Pithoragarh, which is constructing this project, have maintained. Rest of the amount i.e. Rs 23 crore is yet to be released though a proposal has already been submitted to the State Government, the officials concerned further said.
But the officials concerned of UIDC have said that construction works are going on in full swing now to have the air strip completed by March 2015. According to the UIDC officials concerned, the airstrip was expected to be readied as scheduled by March this year. However, given non-release of Rs 23 crore, it is to be seen whether this airstrip would be readied to facilitate flight of a 48- seater aircraft as scheduled by March, 2015 or not.
Mention worthy, to have a toehold on this strategically important northern front in Pithoragarh to match China's infrastructural development along the Himalayan border seems to be vital for India.
The fact of the matter is that India still has to approach the upper Himlayan border with Tibet/China through narrow by-foot lanes due to poor road connectivity in Pithoragarh. So the much -awaited Naini- Saini airstrip is one of the important steps towards the direction of conquering these odds.
More so, as Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh region is considered one of the extremely vulnerable parts of the Himalayan State from natural disaster point of view, apart from its strategic importance, the Naini-Saini airbase may also come in handy to deal with any natural disaster like situation in that region of the border district . More importantly, better air connectivity may also boost Uttarakhand's tourism industry in Pithoragarh, maintained the people associated with the tourism sector here.