Narasingha bats for Balangir's inclusion in Udan scheme

BHUBANESWAR: Leader of opposition Narasingha Mishra has urged the state government to include Tusura airstrip in Balangir district in the second round of bidding under the Centre's regional connectivity scheme (RCS) - Udan.
The first round bidding for operating a flight to Tusura had failed to elicit a response.
"In the first round of bidding, no private operator contested in the bid for running flight to Tusura. The scheme is market-driven and the state government may be requested to encourage private airlines to participate in bidding," civil aviation minister S Gajapati Raju wrote to Mishra who, on April 6, had sent a letter to the former to consider including Tusura for air connectivity with the state capital.
"I have urged the state government as the civil aviation minister, while responding to me, has mentioned that the state government has a say while selecting the airstrip for Udan. Since Balangir is an economically backward district and there is poor railway and highway connectivity and the nearby airport is far from it, I urged the government for including the Tusura airstrip," Mishra said.
He added: "It is inferred from the letter of civil aviation minister that there will be a second round of bidding for the Udan scheme. I request the government to take this opportunity and connect Tusura with Bhubaneswar by air as the fare is quite affordable also."
Balangir's neighbouring district Kalahandi, which is about 100 km away, is one of the hubs for intra-state air connectivity. "Both Balangir and Kalahandi are nearer to Raipur, the state capital of Chhattisgarh. Since Raipur is one of the points being connected with Bhubaneswar en route Kalahandi, the same can be done in case of Balangir also," Mishra argued.