Bokaro Steel Plant Expedites Elora Hostel Demolition for Airport Expansion

Bokaro: A team Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) management demolished the canteen building at the Elora Hostel situated in Camp-2 area on Wednesday. The action, led by general manager, security, Alok Chawla, clearly signalled that the process of evacuating the Elora Hostel for the airport expansion project has been expedited.BSL is aggressively issuing notices and also doing miking (announcements) to the residents from February 11. The Elora Hostel, adjacent to the airport boundary wall, comprises about 99 houses, all of which will have to be demolished after being vacated for airport expansion. At present, most of the houses have been evacuated, only 20 houses are left which are said to be demolished soon. Few houses are also illegally occupied.The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is undertaking the Bokaro airport construction, has requested BSL and the district administration to remove the Elora Hostel, situated at one end, so that the airport boundary wall can be extended and the area secured. The Elora Hostel is one of the major reasons for the delay in airport operations. The non-removal of the hostel is also a major obstacle in obtaining a license from the DGCA.BSL chief of communications Manikant Dhan stated that a team, equipped with a JCB machine, reached the Elora Hostel on Wednesday morning and demolished the canteen building first. The process of demolishing the remaining vacant houses will now begin. BSL had already issued a notice requesting residents to vacate their homes. Those still residing were served reminder notice last month as well.