Rupshi airport in rough weather

Dhubri: Political turbulence is clouding the fate of the airport at Rupshi, caught as it is in a tug-of-war between the Bodoland Territorial Council and residents of Dhubri district.
Rupshi airport, 15km from Dhubri town, was previously under the jurisdiction of the Dhubri administration. It was brought under Bodoland after the formation of the BTC.
Several organisations of Dhubri district have mounted pressure on the state and central governments to reopen Rupshi airport.
Sources in Gossaigaon said the BTC had decided to construct a new airport, as it had promised earlier. But a suitable plot of land has to be made available to the Airports Authority of India.
At present, the BTC administration is trying to acquire land in Bhomrabil, Polashguri, Serfanguri and Malaguri villages in Kokrajhar district. This is being vehemently opposed by villagers and several students’ organisations, including the local units of the All Assam Minorities Students’ Union and the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad, sources said.
A meeting was held recently with Basir Ahmed as chairman on the campus of Srirampur Junior College. Villagers and activists who attended the meeting expressed resentment over the BTC’s decision to construct a new airport in a populated zone.
Those at the meeting noted that the proposed aerodrome would hardly serve any purpose and argued that instead of constructing a new airport, the defunct Rupshi airport, which is under the BTC’s jurisdiction, should be upgraded into a modern airport.
22/09/07 The Telegraph

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Categories: Airports Sep 2007