Arunachal Pradesh Governor Gen (retd.) J.J. Singh accompanied by Air Marshal S. Varthaman, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command, on Friday inaugurated the renovated Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) of Vijaynagar, a completely air-maintained and strategically located human settlement in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh and located at the tri-junction of India, Myanmar and China.
With the inauguration of the ALG, the operation of the transport aircraft AN-32 of the Indian Air Force — known as the workhorse of the IAF's transport fleet — to this inaccessible settlement also resumed after a long gap. Prior to suspension of the operation AN-32 in 2009 due to renovation work of the ALG, the IAF used to operate two civilian sorties every month from the Mohanbari airport in upper Assam's Dibrugarh district to Vijaynagar. In addition, there used to be three sorties a month for the Assam Rifles personnel guarding the strategic frontier. The old ALG was made up of Pierced Steel Plate (PSP) sheets and before every landing of an AN-32 the PSP sheets of the ALG needed to be fixed with wooden pegs which flew off as aircraft took off.
There is no road to Vijaynagar and no electricity for the over 6,000 population of the settlement that has 13 recognised villages and one unrecognised village. The only alternative to air transport is a six-day trek through a 157-km stretch of thick jungles through Namdapha, to reach Miao, the nearest town.
Changlang Deputy Commissioner Opak Gao told The Hindu that after suspension of AN-32 operation, Vijaynagar was connected by helicopter service. However, due to suspension of Pawan Hans service in the wake of the helicopter tragedy in which the former Chief Minister, Dorjee Khandu, died, the helicopter service to Vijaynagar was also disrupted.
Alternative road
Mr. Gao said that the road from Miao to Vijaynagar through the Namdapha Reserve Forest was tried but the construction of the road was hampered by frequent landslips and disruption in supplies of construction material and equipment. “We are now trying to build an alternative road to Vijaynagar via Nampong which will be more than 200 km. The plan is that one Border Road Task Force (BRTF) company will be based at Nampong and will move to Vijaynagar and another BRTF company will be based at Vijaynagar and will move towards Nampong. ,” he added.
The colourful, little-known Lisu tribal people, who migrated from Myanmar in the 1930s, are the first settlers of Vijaynagar. The Nepali residents of this once ungoverned territory are ex-servicemen of the Assam Rifles and their families, settled there by the government of India between 1963-64 and 1970-71. An Assam Rifles outpost was opened in 1962.
Not for countering China: Air Chief
Staff Reporter from Bangalore writes:
The reactivation on Friday of the Vijaynagar airfield is part of a process to strengthen the infrastructure for increasing the accessibility to the northeast, and not for “countering” China, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne said.
He was talking to journalists on the sidelines of the inaugural of the 51st annual conference of the Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine (ISAM).
He said the airfield was too small to operate fighter aircraft. In addition to AN-32, C-130 transport aircraft would also be operated from the airfield in due course.
Asked about the plan to acquire six additional C-130J Super Hercules aircraft from Lockheed Martin, he said the process would be concluded by January. The Air Chief also spoke about the acquisition of two Israeli Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft. “The proposal has just come to us from Israel Aerospace Industries. That proposal is being examined, and we will be sending that to the Ministry [for approval],” he said.
Earlier, speaking at the launch of the annual conference, of which theme this year is ‘Aerospace Medicine: The road ahead–new horizons and new challenges,' he stressed the need to bridge the gap between doctors and aviators.
The Air Chief presented the Chief of Air Staff rolling trophy for first primary aerospace medicine course to Flight Lieutenant Chandrasekhara Guru and the Air Vice Marshal M.M.J. Srinagesh Trophy for securing first rank in the 48th Advance Course in aerospace medicine to Lieutenant Commander S.K. Verma.
MMRCA deal winner to be announced next month
The winner of the contract to supply 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) to the Indian Air Force will be known by mid-December, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the winner of the Rs. 42,000-crore contract, touted to be India's biggest ever military supply deal, would be finalised by next month.
Two contenders remain in the fray: Eurofighter and Dassault's Rafale.
Asked whether there would be any cost-escalation, he said: “I can't tell you anything till the time we finish that work.”
