VILLUPURAM: Ulundurpet, a speck on the map enroute to reveler-friendly Puducherry, hides in its bosom a historic tale that any aviation fanatic would give their right arm for. This small town panchayat in Villupuram district is set to gain its rightful place in aviation annals once the flight training school of the iconic Madras Flying Club becomes operational.
The joint venture between the Tamil Nadu Tourism Department and the Madras Flying School will see to it that the now abandoned British-era airbase sets budding pilots soaring into the sky soon.
When Madras Flying Club official Captain Jacob Selvaraj and trainer Vivek reached Ulundurpet to oversee the cleaning work at the airstrip on Tuesday evening, they told the reporters that the Club would soon start training sessions here. In the first phase, they would operate from Chennai, and soon a separate training unit would be started in Ulundurpet.
A decision is likely on Friday, when government officials would inspect the airstrip.
Before going any further, a trivia: did you know that the first flight from Tamil Nadu took off on February 15, 1911 from Madras (now Chennai). Yes, that was way before business tycoon JRD Tata brought Tamil Nadu on to aviation map in 1932, when he piloted a plane from Karachi (now Pakistan) to Madras via Bombay (Mumbai).
Just seven years after the iconic long-distance flight, the Second World War broke out and the British, not wanting to keep all their eggs in one basket, embarked on an airbase construction spree across India, as the one in Chennai faced the threat of coming under enemy fire.
Here’s how Ulundurpet comes into the picture. The British government had constructed many warehouses in Villupuram district, with Ulundurpet figuring top in their scheme of things. Since the enemy fire threat was looming large over Madras, the government started converting a warehouse in Ulundurpet into an airbase. The airbase was thrown open in 1942.
The five-km-long runway at the airbase was the longest in South Asia at that time. Such was the size of the facility that it could house 25,000 troops at a time. It became redundant with the end of the war in 1945. Two years later, India gained independence and the airbase was lost from memory.
A watershed moment came in 1955, when the then prime minister Jawharlal Nehru’s special flight landed here. He was en route to Cuddalore district to inaugurate the Neyveli Lignite Corporation’s plant. Later, the airbase fell into disuse and years of neglect had a telling effect on it. Over time, half of its 300 acre land was encroached upon and no one bothered to evict the squatters.
Till 15 years ago, the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation used the airstrip to store paddy, wheat and grains. After their departure, the abandoned airbase fell into the hands of anti-socials, who began running open bars and flesh trade rackets from here. During daytime, cattle used to graze the pastures along the strip.
Express on February 25, 2014, carried a story on the pitiable state the airbase was left in and the growing clamour among the residents to convert it into a recreational spot by driving away the strays and anti-socials.
A fortnight ago, addressing the media at Kodaikanal, Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said that nearly 400 airstrips in the country were not in use. He said that the Aviation Ministry had identified 398 airstrips as under-served and unserved and was mulling ways to make them operational. This airstrip too featured on the list of unserved airstrips. Under the Regional Connectivity Scheme, the Central government sanctioned `4,500 crore for improving air connectivity from 13 spots in Tamil Nadu, including Ulundurpet.
The residents began thronging the facility since Monday to see the Ulundurpet division Public Works Department officials embarking on a mega clean-up drive breathe fresh life into the disused airbase. Even the locals farmers, who never saw a plane in their life, were upbeat over the possibility of seeing flights taking off from their verdant locale.