Wednesday 9 December 2009

Connecting emerging cities and industrial hubs of Odisha by Air: Need for a dedicated regional air service

RP Tripathy

Recently many State governments like Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Gujarat and some north-eastern states have come forward with plans for dedicated regional air service and have made considerable progress in this. Orissa has been considered a laggard as far as air connectivity is concerned (for that matter many districts are not even properly connected by railways and roads) and just putting the blame on central apathy every time won’t do any good to the State. Further, it may not be feasible for the national carrier to start air services to regional towns and industrial centers of Orissa from other metros of India owing to issues of revenue, passenger demand and lack of infrastructure for landing etc. But, connecting the regional growth centers by air is indispensable for the industrial and educational development of the state. It is also critical for development of tourism sector and faster medical services etc. Can’t our State Govt think of a similar dedicated regional air service to connect the regional growth centers with the state capital or with the nearest metro i.e., Kolkata? A dedicated regional air service connecting =Bhubaneswar-Berhampur-Koraput-Jharsuguda-Rourkela-Badbil-Kolkata-Bhubaneswar= will ensure faster development of the state and will make the entire state approachable by air.

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