VIZIANAGARAM: If everything goes well according to the plan, Vizianagaram district will have a regular airport.
After years of dithering and inaction, plans have been revived for building a `C’ class airport at Badangi which had an air force station during the British rule. It was used by the British for moving its troops across the north coastal region.
The Badangi aerodrome was spread over 221 acres. Of that land, an extent of 112.09 acres was enchroched upon by 454 farmers of Munaga, Ramabhadrapuram and Pudivalasa villages. The Food Corporation of India used the place for some time to store paddy and wheat. After the Navy set up its air station, INS Dega, at Visakhapatnam, the Badangi airstrip lost its utility completely and for several years the successive governments in the State did not bother to pursue the matter with the central aviation authorities for developing it as a passenger-cum-cargo airport.
In a positive development officials of the Ministry of Defence (MoB) had, sometime ago, visited the place and found it suitable for setting up a wireless communication unit for naval aviation in the region.
A defence team comprising Capt MD Varma, Lt Col R Natarajan and TRS Kumar inspected the place on September 7, 2006 and came to the conclusion that it was fit for setting up a wireless communication unit (WCU). The recommendation, however, did not materialise.
A year later, in December to be precise, the aviation department suddenly woke up, dusted and rummaged through the old file to find the proposal on Badangi.
Losing no further time it sent a communique in the same month to the local authorities asking them to acquire 717 acres of land for building an airport at Badangi.
Joint Collector P Lakshminarasimham confirmed to Express that the civil aviation ministry proposed to build a `C’ class airport at Badangi in partnership with private entrepreneurs.