When representatives of seven districts of the western region met Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani in Chennai recently, there was a promise that they would do the needful to expedite land acquisition process for expansion of Coimbatore International Airport.
“We estimate that about ₹ 40 crore would be needed to acquire 45 to 50 acres for the first phase of expansion. If the government can allocate this amount and expedite the process, the expansion work will start off,” said Vanitha Mohan, convenor of Kongu Global Forum.
The forum was formed to take up jointly the demands of the western districts of the State. “We met the State Government officials and explained how important it was to expand the airport here. The benefits from it would be huge,” she said.
According to a press release from the forum, its representatives had met the Civil Aviation authorities recently in New Delhi and sought more international flights to and from Coimbatore. Though the airport was declared an international airport in 2011, it had direct flight connectivity to just two international destinations now.
The authorities told the forum members that the flight connections would be added after completion of Coimbatore airport expansion activities.
Subsequently the forum representatives recently met the Chief Minister and stressed that priority should be given to complete land acquisition for expansion of Coimbatore airport.
“They have agreed to address and initiate action at the earliest,” Ms. Mohan said in the press release. The forum will constantly follow up the airport expansion project with the Union and State Governments so that it takes off, she said.
The forum members also demanded action to rejuvenate the water bodies and improve the ground water level in this region. “It is not just in Coimbatore district, but across the State, cleaning of water bodies and construction of check dams is a necessity so that ground water table improves,” she told The Hindu .
They sought a meeting led by the Chief Minister, Ministers concerned, and officials to come out with a plan for the development of the region.
