GUNTUR: The officials of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Bapatla district administration made elaborate arrangements for the trial run for landing of aircrafts at the Emergency Landing Facility (ELF), scheduled to be held on Monday from 9 am to 1 pm.
The officials have already set up radars and other technical equipment to conduct the trail run successfully. Additional police personnel were deployed for security measures and to prevent commuters and nearby villagers from entering the airstrip during the trial run.
Traffic restrictions will be imposed from 7.30 am to 1 pm on NH 16, informed district SP Vakul Jindal. Vehicles arriving from Vijayawada will be diverted through Addanki, and vehicles heading to Visakhapatnam, Guntur, from Ongole will be diverted through Medarametla and Renangivaram. The officials also appealed to the commuters and the nearby villagers to cooperate and plan their journey accordingly.
As part of strengthening strategic security of the country, the IAF conducted the trial run successfully.
Bapatla ELR is the first-of-its kind emergency facility in the southern peninsula. The Government of India had planned around 20 (Emergency Landing Runway) ELR facilities across the country, which would come up in course of time. The facility would help in case of war, floods, during NDRF’s rescue operations, air dropping of relief material, transportation of the stranded people and for other emergency needs.
It can be recalled that, a 4.1-km long and 60 metre wide concrete airstrip was constructed on Bapatla National Highway 16 at Pichukalagudipadu village in Korisapadu mandal of Bapatla district. A trial run for the touchdown of air crafts was conducted successfully on 29 December 2022.