Villagers oppose Balurghat airport revival

Balurghat: Resumption of air service from Balurghat in South Dinajpur district is still at the nascent stage but a controversy has broken out on the matter of land use.
The airport, which once enjoyed a brisk business closed down many years ago and the airport campus gradually turned into a thoroughfare for the residents of 12 villages of the Danga ~ Vijaysree anchal, which is beyond the airport. And now that the policy makers are planning to revive the airport, the villagers are against the campus wall of the proposed airport.
According to them, a campus wall would deprive them of the passage they enjoyed for such a long period and so, unless the authorities arrange for an alternative passage, they would resist the idea of a campus wall for the airport. On the other hand, there seems serious intent from the policy makers’ end to revive the airport. Airports Authority of India officials have inspected the airport site thrice in recent times and construction of the wall has already begun, which has made the residents of the 12 villages in concern see red.
07/11/07 The Statesman

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Categories: Airports Nov 2007, New Nov 2007