Nitin Gadkari said, “The Air Force chief said me that it normally takes 1.5 years to develop an airstrip. I told him that we will rather build these for you just in 15 days(airstrip) and, of good quality!”
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) took about 19 months to construct the emergency landing strip on the Satta-Gandhav stretch on NH-925 in Barmer
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday told that the emergency landing strips for the Indian Air Force planes will be developed within 15 days rather of 1.5 years.
- The country’s first emergency landing strip for IAF planes built on a national highway in Rajasthan was opened by Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari today.
Today, Gadkari and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 3-km-long emergency landing strip on National Highway 925 in Rajasthan for the IAF aircraft.
After the inauguration, Gadkari said: “Yesterday, during the honorable IAF Chief came to me, he said me that it took 1.5 years to develop this landing strip (in Barmer).”
“Then I told him that we would develop good quality landing strips for you within 15 days instead of 1.5 years,” he said
NH-925 is India’s first national highway to be used for emergency landing by the IAF planes.
Gadkari further said the armed forces should create a small airport here.
“As per my knowledge, there is no airport here in the area of almost 350 km. I have told CDS Bipin Rawat sir that you can build a small airport here,” the minister said.
“If you need land, we will give it to you. You should conduct your defense activities there, and there would also be a small set of civil operations.
If private airlines start one or two daily flights, local people will get benefited too,” he added.
Gadkari also said that emergency landing facilities will be developed at 19 other places to strengthen the country’s security.
He said this highway runway will further strengthen the country’s security in protecting the strategically important borders.
Emergency landing facilities will be developed in 19 other places
Emergency landing facilities will be developed on Phalodi – Jaisalmer road and Barmer – Jaisalmer road in Rajasthan, Kharagpur – Balasore road in West Bengal, Kharagpur – Keonjhar road and near Panagarh/KKD, Chennai in Tamil Nadu, on Puducherry road, in Andhra Pradesh on Nellore – Ongole road and Ongole – Chilakaluripet road, in Haryana on Mandi Dabwali to Odhan road, near Sangrur in Punjab, on Bhuj-Naliya road in Gujarat and on Surat-Baroda road, in Jammu and Kashmir in the Banihal-Srinagar road, Leh/Nyoma area in Assam and on the Jorhat-Baraghat road, near Sivasagar, Bagdogra-Hashimara road, Hashimara-Tezpur route and Hashimara-Guwahati road in Assam, Emergency Landing facilities will be developed.
The minister also said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the construction of a world-class National Highway is being done at record speed.
He spoke to our National Highways will also be of use to the army, which will make our country more secure and always available for emergency situations.
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