Several infrastructure gaps have delayed Deoghar’s debut on the country’s aerial map by at least a few more months. A delegation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries headed by its president Praveen Kr. Jain (Chhabra), Vice President Kishore Mantri, general secretary Rahul Maroo and others visited Deoghar airport.
The FJCCI team on their visit expressed displeasure over tardy construction work. Chamber Vice President Kishore Mantri said, “On Sunday we visited Deoghar airport. A lot of construction work is yet to be completed at Deoghar airport.” Mantri said, “The approach road connecting airport is yet to be constructed, car parking facility and other construction work are going on slow pace.”
Sources said that the state government and civil aviation department has pegged a target of commencing flight services from April this year, however, FJCCI team which visited Deoghar airport today are unsure of commencement of air services from April this year.
The foundation stone of the Rs 401.34-crore Deoghar airport was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 25, 2018. It is being developed by the Airports Authority of India in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Jharkhand government.
The airport is spread over 653.75 acre and its terminal building is being built over an area of 4,000sqm, while the runway is 2,500 metre long. With an environment-friendly architectural design and state-of-the-art passenger facilities, the terminal building will be a composite structure inspired by the rising towers (shikhar) of the Baba Baidyanath temple.
Once ready, this will be Jharkhand’s second largest airport after Birsa Munda International terminal in Ranchi and will be suitable for operation of Airbus A-320 type of aircraft. Currently, rail and road journeys are the only options for thousands who come to Deoghar annually for Lord Shiva’s darshan.
The airport once completed will also be first airport in Santhal Pargana and will cater to demands in Dumka, Sahebganj and other bordering districts of Bihar and Bengal.
Meanwhile, the Chamber has also demanded resumption of air services to Patna, Raipur, Bhubaneswar and other cities.
The Air service to these cities from Birsa Munda International Airport is suspended since months due to corona pandemic
. As flight services are suspended, people have to face trouble.
The chamber has also demanded flight services to other cities including Pune, Chandigarh, North East and others cities.
At present from Birsa Munda International Airport flight services are to Kolkata which is three days in a week.
Air services are also to Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and other cities. The Chamber has thanks Civil Aviation department for launching air services to Ahmedabad.
