MoS, Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, who also happens to be Hazaribagh MP had announced two months ago that soon the denizens of Hazaribagh will get air connectivity from their hometown. He had directed the district administration to take the matter of Hazaribagh airstrip land seriously and to pursue the matter pending in the court. On his initiative last month, a team of senior officials of civil aviation department had arrived here and had made a massive survey of the area.
On one hand, Sinha is trying his best to give a gift to Hazaribagh and one another hand due to dullness of district administration some persons have started preparing the land suitable for agriculture.
With the tractors they have ploughed the major part of the land for the last three days and no one from district
administration has yet visited the site or tried to stop the ongoing work.
The district administration had acquired a piece of land situated in Nagwan village some 50 years ago for Hazaribagh airstrip. Major portion of the land was acquired without any dispute but for some portion dispute is going on in the court.
For the last five decades that piece of land is vacant and is used by district administration time to time for landing of small aircraft, planes, helicopters etc. Besides this the district administration also uses it every year for air sports.
Since this piece of land is adjacent to NH33 and many line hotels are here so this land is used mostly by the truck drivers for parking their vehicles during night. Villagers use a pathway which crosses through this land to reach their villages.
The present development seems to be political because the land owners who are fighting with the district administration in court never tried to tense the situation as they are doing now. Preparation for growing potato and other vegetables are going on there and for two days no one of the district administration was aware of it. On Sunday when newsmen asked about it Deputy Commissioner Ravi Shankar Shukla said that if it is fact then action will be taken against all those involved in it.
After more than 24 hours of this talk no one from the district administration has yet visited the site which is hardly 5 kms away from the collectorate. On Monday when asked about it SDO Anuj Kumar Prasad said, “I am busy in Barkagaon and tomorrow I have to go to Ranchi so on Wednesday perhaps I will visit the spot.”