Bihar and Jharkhand to get new airports as air travel increases

The Union Civil Aviation Ministry has identified Gaya and Raxaul in Bihar for development of airports. The ministry has also selected Jamshedpur and Deoghar for development of airports in view of the growing number of air travellers across the country.

Both places in Bihar have immense potential to emerge as viable airports. In fact, Gaya already has a functional airport where Air India flights as well as those from foreign countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Myanmar operate regularly.

An Airbus-320 can land at the Gaya airport. There are now plans to develop it so it can handle the rush of tourists, especially the Buddhist pilgrims, who come to Bodh Gaya.

Raxaul does not have a functional airport as of now. During the 1962 war against China, an airport was made in the small sub-divisional town along the Nepal border for the Indian Army aircraft to land, but it has remained unused for years now.

Raxaul, however, has good potential since it is located on the border with Nepal. On the other side of the border lies Birganj. The local residents have to come to Patna, located more than 200 km away, to catch a flight to Delhi or Kolkata.

The industrial town of Jamshedpur already has an aerodrome, which is used for smaller planes. The bigger aircraft, however, have to land at the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi. Jamshedpur, which has been the hub of steel industries for decades, needs air connectivity with cities like Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Patna and Delhi and may well emerge as a viable airport.

Courtesy: Mail Today