Though the first phase of agitation against the alleged negligence of the Calicut International Airport by indefinitely delaying the runway re-carpeting work ended on Monday, the joint action committee led by the Calicut Chamber of Commerce and Industries and Malabar Development Forum, has not renounced the strike completely.
Action committee general secretary Abdulla Maliyekkal told The Hindu that the committee would closely monitor the progress of the work and would come out in protest as and when it was required. If the work is not started by September 23 as was promised by the authorities, the committee would recommence the agitation with increased vigour, Mr. Absulla said.
The action committee had on Monday called off a week-old agitation after the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted a long-awaited approval for the strengthening and re-carpeting work of the airport. The airport had been closed partially since June 1 this year for the proposed runway re-carpeting work. However, no work had started yet.
Sept. 23 deadline
With the DGCA granting the work approval, the airport authorities can start the work on any day from now. However, September 23 has been given as a deadline to start the work, said action committee members. According to Mr. Abdulla, the action committee will follow up the work once it begins. “We cannot afford the work to prolong indefinitely,” he said.
The authorities said that it would take around 18 months to complete the re-carpeting work. The next phase of the agitation, the action committee members said, would be to reduce the time required for the re-carpeting works. If the re-carpeting works could be completed in six months at the Bangalore International Airport, why not in Karipur airport, asked K.M. Basheer, chairman of the Malabar Development Forum.
According to Mr. Abdulla, the action committee had decided to convene a meeting of various stakeholders, including NRI forums and people’s representatives, in the city to discuss the future course of agitation if the neglect continued in the future. The committee is planning to invite all panchayat presidents from the Kozhikode and Malappuram districts, besides representatives of various socio cultural and political forums to the meeting. “The meeting has been fixed tentatively for October 10,” said Mr. Abdulla.
Airport authorities can start the work on any day from now.
