Kerala - Kottayam   

AAI team visits airstrip sites in high ranges

KOTTAYAM: With officials from Airports Authority of India (AAI) making their preliminary inspection of the sites for the proposed airstrip in Idukki, the aviation dreams of the high ranges have once again taken wings.

The two-member team from AAI, Pradeep Kandoth, joint general manager (operations), Chennai, and Mathew Varghese from the engineering wing, accompanied by Francis George MP, K.K. Jayachandran and Roshy Augustine (both MLAs) and District Collector Ashok Kumar Singh, examined two spots during their visit.

One site is at Peringkamala near the District Collectorate in Kuilimala and the other at Anakkara in Udumbanchola taluk. Speaking to The Hindu, Mr Singh said only preliminary steps have been initiated and the AAI authorities would now go into the technical details regarding the two areas before giving a final answer on the technical feasibility. The visit was based on a proposal submitted to the AAI by the district authorities. According to Mr Singh, demand for an airstrip was there for long. “With the tourism industry making a quantum leap and with the emergence of Thekkady and Munnar as major tourist destinations, the demand has increased,” he said.

Lack of easy accessibility to the high ranges had been a reason for its backwardness. “However, the most important role for the air accessibility would be during natural calamities,” he pointed out, and said landslips are one of the major problems faced by the district during the monsoon. Air accessibility would help overcome bottlenecks created by lack of accessibility in such periods. The proposal is for operating 42-seaterATRs. The air strip would need 202 ha (500 acres) of land, considering the scope for future expansion. It would have a 1,500 m-long runway and an apron of 400mx400m area.

Due to the peculiar topography of the High Ranges, special care will have to be taken to ensure open space for the landing and take-off, he said. The AAI authorities have asked for wind data for the past 15 years of the two spots. The maximum temperature experienced at these places also has to be taken into account, Mr Singh said.

Expressing cautious optimism about the project becoming a reality, Mr Singh said that once the AAI gives the green signal, a detailed proposal would have to be submitted to the Government of India. “Issues like the scope of the project or whether it should be in the public sector or in private sector or in the joint sector comes only after we get the go ahead”.

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