PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Chief secretary Anand Bardhan held a review meeting on the civil aviation department in Uttarakhand on Tuesday. During the meeting, he reviewed the current status of flight operations and the progress of airport and airstrip expansion in the State.
The district magistrates of Dehradun and Udham Singh Nagar districts updated him on the progress of expansion of Dehradun and Pantnagar airports. Bardhan directed both officials to complete the expansion work without delay. He also asked the Udham Singh Nagar DM to clear land that had been acquired for expansion and proceed with further action. He also directed Pithoragarh DM to prepare a standard operational structure plan for the airport.
The CS said that the airport should be staffed by deputation from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) while outsourcing can be used for other roles. He also asked for a structural load bearing capacity test of the tunnel related to Pithoragarh airport’s expansion by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee or another institution with technical expertise.
Bardhan also directed the director general of UCADA to submit a detailed report on the current status of state-wide air connectivity and future plans at the next meeting. The Aviation secretary Sachin Kurve, UCADA director general Sonika and Dehradun DM were present in the meeting while the DMs of Udham Singh Nagar and Pithoragarh connected remotely.
