'Era of Atkana, Latkana, Bhatkana Is Over': PM Modi Launches Arunachal's First Greenfield Airport
PM Modi inaugurated Arunachal Pradesh's first greenfield 'Donyi Polo Airport' at Holangi in Itanagar. The AAI has developed the Donyi Polo airport at an estimated cost of Rs 645 crore.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated Arunachal Pradesh's first greenfield 'Donyi Polo Airport' at Holangi in Itanagar. The Airports Authority of India has developed the Donyi Polo airport at an estimated cost of Rs 645 crore.
"The double engine government committed to development is taking the state to new heights," PM Modi said. Targeting the opposition, he said the time for creating obstacles and delays ("atkana, latkana, bhatkana") is over as the BJP government inaugurates the projects it announces.
In 2019, PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of Greenfield Airport at Hollongi and inaugurated retrofitted Tezu airport.
The Prime Minister remarked that people who claimed the 2019 event to be an election-time assurance that won't see fruition, have been given an answer with the inauguration today. "Political commentators should give up their old views, stop measuring everything with political parameters," he added.
PM Modi said that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government was the first to prioritise the Arunachal's development, but the "momentum was not carried forward."
"After independence, the northeast became witness to a different era. For decades, the region remained a victim of negligence... When Atal ji's government came, for the first time efforts were made to change this. It was the first government that made a separate ministry for northeast's development," he mentioned.
"The governments that came after his didn't take the momentum forward. Another era of change came when you gave me the opportunity to serve you. Previous governments used to think the Northeast is far away. Villages in border areas were considered the last village but our government considered them the first village of the country," he added.
At the event, he dedicated a 600 MW Kameng hydroelectric power project in Arunachal Pradesh to the nation while also launching the Udan brochure.
"Connectivity and energy infrastructure are bringing a new dawn of development for the northeastern region," the Prime Minister said.
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Donyi Polo Airport
The name of the airport reflects the traditions and rich cultural heritage of Arunachal Pradesh and its age-old indigenous reverence for the Sun (‘Donyi’) and the Moon (‘Polo’), a statement by the Prime Minister's Office mentioned.
According to the official statement, the terminal at Hollongi has been constructed at approximately a cost of Rs 955 crore with an area of 4100 sq m. It has a peak handling capacity of 200 passengers per hour.
The airport has been developed in an area of over 690 acres, at a cost of more than Rs 640 crore. With a 2,300 m runway, the airport is suitable for all weather day operations.
"The airport terminal is a modern building, which promotes energy efficiency, renewable energy, and the recycling of resources. Donyi Polo Airport will be the third operational airport for Arunachal Pradesh, taking the total airport count in the North-East region to 16. From 1947 to 2014, only nine airports were built in the North-East. In a short span of eight years since then, the Modi government has built seven airports in the North-East," read the official statement.
Flights connecting Hollongi, which is around 15 km from Itanagar, with Mumbai and Kolkata will operate daily barring Wednesday. A weekly flight service connecting Hollongi with Kolkata on Wednesdays will begin on December 3, the chief strategy and revenue officer of IndiGo, Sanjay Kumar had said recently.
(With Agency Inputs)
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