Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 10: Expressing grave concern over the incident in which 137 passengers had a narrow escape when tyres of Air India aircraft burst and got deviated from the runway after landing at Jammu airport on Friday, Harsh Dev Singh, chairman JKNPP and former Minister, regretted that the Government generally wakes up only after the catastrophe has struck.
He rued the extremely hazardous plight of Jammu Airport whose short and rough runway is not only a nightmare for pilots but poses serious threat to lives and safety of passengers. He said that the Government had not only neglected long pending extension of the existing runway at the Jammu Airport from 6700 feet to 8000 feet as repeatedly warned by Aviation experts but also displayed criminal negligence in ensuring proper maintenance of the Airport thus putting the very lives of passengers to jeopardy.
Expressing serious concern over the earlier reports of the Air Officer Commanding (AoC), who had expressed apprehensions of serious threats to the safety of aircrafts and passengers in view of shabby plight of Airport, Singh strongly condemned the Government functionaries for their inaction and culpable neglect in dealing with the critical situation that could lead to a dangerous denouement.
He further regretted that the much awaited expansion of Jammu Airport seemed to have gone in a limbo despite Rs 70 crore having been sanctioned for the project in 2011 under PM’s Task Force recommendations.
Pointing towards the Srinagar Airport which has received focused attention of successive Governments with its up gradation as an international Airport by introducing Haj flights also, Singh deplored the raw deal given to Jammu Airport besides leaving the Jammu passengers at the mercy of Almighty. He said that even Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti persistently advocated the installation of Advanced Instrumentation Landing System (AILS) for Srinagar Airport without mentioning a word about the highly vulnerable Jammu Airport. He revealed that even the small station airport near Kullu in Himachal Pradesh has better ambiance and capacity than Jammu Airport.
“While the Modi led Govt is talking of developing modern and smart cities, Jammu is being deprived of even the basic facilities desperately needed for safety and security of the people,” he added.
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