Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday unveiled a huge national flag on a 100-foot (30 metres) mast near the upcoming interim terminal on the premises of the Vijayawada airport at Gannavaram on the occasion of Independence Day.
Mr. Naidu appreciated the officials of the Airports Authority of India for bringing up such a flag that boosts the patriotic spirit of the citizens. However, the location of the flag on the premises of an airport raised many eyebrows, as there are certain height limitations for structures in and around airports.
Permissions obtained
“The mast is as tall as the four high mast lights on the ‘airside’ of the airport. Installation of the flag mast has all permissions from the authority and it does not affect movement of aircraft or the functioning of the airport, as it does not come in the line of runway,” Airport Director G. Madhusudhana Rao told The Hindu . The air traffic control (ATC) tower close to the runway and current terminal is a 4-storied structure and only about 50 feet high, he added.
It is learnt that the installation of the flag was the idea of Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who is on a spree of tweeting I-Day celebration pictures on his Twitter account . “Our Tiranga flies high & mighty @ upcoming Vijayawada airport terminal. Many salutes to its designer Pingali Venkayya [sic]”, Mr Ashok said in a tweet made along with photos of the flag three days ago.
The flag’s mast was bought from Skipper Limited, a Kolkata firm and costs Rs.10 lakh. The fabric alone costs Rs.50,000. “We are maintaining spare flags for replacement if any problem occurs to the existing one. It will be a permanent feature at the airport and will be flying even in the night,” Mr. Madhusudhana Rao added. The flag’s fabric is 30 feet long and 20 feet wide. As per the norms of No Objection Certificate Application System, the permissible height of structures in the location of the flag is about 43 metres. The flag is installed in front of the upcoming terminal which is at a distance of at least half kilometre from the nearest point of runway.
