Mail News Service
Jamshedpur, March 12: Jamshedpur MP Bidyut Baran Mahato Sunday promised that the people of the city would get the proposed airport in Dhalbhumgarh once the BJP forms government in Jharkhand. He was speaking at a press conference at his Bistupur residence.
The MP alleged that the current Jharkhand state government and its bureaucrats were against the development of the region. “The state government and its officials do not want that the people of Jamshedpur and its surroundings get employment and modern amenities. Had it been so, the Dhalbhumgarh Airport project would have started off one year ago. But this ambitious project of the Central government could not be implemented due to the non-cooperation of the Jharkhand government and forest officials,” he said.
Mahato said the Dhalbhum airport existed since the times of Britishers. “I had long been trying hard to get an international airport in Dhalbhumgarh. I met the PM, CM, Union Aviation Minister, Chief Secretary and so many other people regarding the Airport and got hurdles removed. In 2019, the Raghubar Das government had laid the foundation stone of the airport. But the current Jharkhand government did not show the willpower and threw the project on the backburner,” he said.
The MP said the BJP government had allotted Rs 100 crore for the airport project. “The then Union Aviation Minister and Jharkhand CM had performed bhumi pujan at the airport site. But after 2019, the Jharkhand government started throwing spanner in the project. The state officials said the airport site fell under elephant zone and hence the project could not take off,” he said. Mahato said the Dhalbhumgarh airport was crucial from commercial point of view. “Jharkhand shares its borders with Odisha and West Bengal. Businesspersons from all over the world and the country come here. They have to take flights through Ranchi or Kolkata at present which is costly. I request the Jharkhand government to reconsider their opinion on the project,” he said.