After over seven decades of its construction, the Bidar airport is likely to be opened for civilian flights, courtesy the ambition Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme of the Union Civil Aviation Ministry.
A letter by the Ministry to the State government has confirmed that eleven private airlines have bid for operating flights from 43 under utilized or unutilized airports in the country. Among these are the airports in Bidar and Torangal in Karnataka.
Bidar airport is unique. It is not a ‘ghost’ airport, meaning it is not among the 200 facilities created under the 15 year UPA regime, most of which have been empty after airlines did not operate owing to low demand.
It was established by British forces before the second World War. It was used as a refuelling centre and transit station for carrier planes. After independence, the Indian Air Force began a primary pilot training centre in Bidar that was later upgraded to the Hawk fighter plane training centre.
It has world class technical facilities, including three kilometre long airstrip and state-of-the-art signalling systems. The ‘Plus’ shaped airstrip helps airplanes take off from opposing directions and cheat strong winds in one direction.
The demand for using Bidar for civil aviation has been long-pending. The State government made its biggest push before Gur Ta Gaddi in 2007, the 300th anniversary of the Guru Granth Sahib being declared the eternal Guru of the Sikh faith. Lakhs of devotees were expected to visit Bidar and Nanded in Maharashtra that year. The State built a separate gate for passengers, huge waiting lounges, office spaces and facilities for security and Airport Authority of India personnel spending around Rs 3.5crore.
However, GMR, the company that built the international airport in Hyderabad, objected to civil aviation from Bidar, citing the ``no two airports in 150 kilometre radius’’ rule of the AAI. It also declined the government’s request to operate flights from Bidar or use the facility for overhaul and maintenance services.
Flying planes between Bidar to Bengaluru and other important cities is expected to achieve two major objectives — to promote tourism in the Deccan, to ensure connectivity to the most backward areas – Hyderabad Karnataka, Telangana and Marathwada in Maharashtra. Connectivity is also expected to achieve the often overlooked goal of ensuring better governance of Bidar, as it will help more ministers and senior officials to visit the backward district for supervision.
