Karnataka - Bangalore   

Pact with BIAL binding: Krishna

Bangalore: The former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, who played a key role in starting work on the Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli, on Tuesday said that the Government was bound by the agreement it signed with Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL) that the HAL airport would be closed for commercial flights when the greenfield airport was ready.

Speaking at a meet-the-press programme at the Press Club of Bangalore, Mr. Krishna said that some quarters had expressed a desire to retain the HAL airport for commercial flights and said it was a matter of convenience. Since the Government had signed an agreement with BIAL, it was difficult to oblige those who were demanding that the old airport be retained, he said.

About the poor state of infrastructure in Bangalore, including connectivity to the international airport, he said work on connectivity should have started when the airport was being built. Infosys Chairman and Chief Mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy, who was chairman of BIAL, was shabbily treated and forced to resign. He should have continued to head BIAL till the work was over, Mr. Krishna said.

On the controversial Hogenakkal water supply project being undertaken by Tamil Nadu, Mr. Krishna said leaders of all parties in the State had a responsibility to protect the interests of the people. The Government should conduct a study on the impact of the project and inform the Centre of its stand.

The Congress leader disapproved of the demand of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray that the north Indians should be sent out of Maharashtra. Mr. Krishna said all Indians had a right to settle anywhere in the country and take up any occupation of their choice. In Maharashtra itself, there were no takers for Mr. Thackeray’s idea, he said.

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