The State committee of the Indian National League (INL) has alleged a conspiracy behind the move to shift the embarkation point of Haj pilgrims from the Calicut international airport to the CIAL airport at Nedumbassery this time.
At a press meet here on Tuesday, the INL leaders said that the move should be seen in the light of the airport authorities decision to start recarpeting of the runway. The Central Road Research Institute’s (CRRI) report, recommending the works, had reached the airport authorities one-and-a-half years ago, said P. Abdul Wahab, State general secretary of the INL. “We suspect the hands of lobbies working against the Calicut airport behind this,” said Mr. Wahab.
This, according to him, was being done with the connivance of authorities. “The airport director has not yet given a satisfactory answer to the people’s suspicions regarding the CRRI report,” said Mr. Wahab. He alleged that the Malappuram MP, E. Ahamed’s stand on the issue also raised serious doubts as the IUML leader was only echoing the airport director’s views. He sought an explanation from the State Haj Committee for the shifting. He urged the airport authorities to make public the CRRI report. The circular had shown ‘no safety reason’ to stop using the runway. It had only cited parking issues, he said. The airport authorities had decided to partially shut down the Calicut airport from May 1 this year sparking off protest as the airport was a major gateway to Gulf destinations.
