Hemanth Kumar/ENS
Bangalore, Mar 7: The onging campaign to retain HAL airport for domestic flight services seems to have had no impact on the State Government as it has rejected any possibilities of a rethink on implementing the concession agreement it has entered into with Bangalore International Airport Limited(BIAL).]
“There is no question of violating the agreement as the consequences will be too serious,” Principal Secretary for the Department of Infrastructure Development, V P Baligar made it clear .
“There is too much at stake. Any violation of the agreement will damage India's stature as a responsible country respecting international agreements. It will also deliver a big blow for private investment proposals in future.
The price in monetary terms too will be too huge, running into thousands of crores of rupees. It is highly unlikely that the Union Government will accept the suggestion to violate the agreement,” Baligar said.
The argument over poor connectivity has invited a counter from the man who has been striving to improve all the roads leading to Devanahalli.
“Does the present HAL airport have seamless connectivity from all parts of Bangalore?”
Resistance was expected whenever a change was effected. Any change would cause some inconvenience to some people.
Those who are worried about the distance of Devanahalli airport should also accept the fact that it would be much more convenient for people of northern and western parts of the city like Yelahanka, Hebbal, Sanjaynagar, Ganganagar, Rajmahal Vilas, Sadashivanagar and Malleshwaram.
With Infra-structure Development department developing air connectivity to tier two cities like Hubli, Mysore, Hassan, Gulbarga and Shimoga, Baligar is also concerned about the inconvenience the international passengers would face if separate airports were operated for domestic and international flights.
“It will be ridiculous to make them travel all the way from HAL to Devanahalli to catch international flights,” he says.
KSTDC taxi drivers protest
Members of the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation( KSTDC) Taxi Drivers' Association staged a protest in front of the Corporate Office, at Bangalore International Airport Limited(BIAL).
More than 700 taxi drivers shouted slogans against the authorities. The protestors alleged that BIAL had shortlisted only 100 taxis from the Association and left out the rest, leaving them unemployed.
Members of Karnataka Kaigarika, Vanijyodhama and the Kannada Sanghagala Okkuta held a discussion with the BIAL authorities on the occasion and demanded employment for all the KSTDC taxi drivers.
They sought a final decision in this regard within two days, failing which they threatened to stage a state-wide indefinite strike.
Vatal to bring buffaloes, camels on road
Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha (KCVP) has taken exception to BBMP chopping off thousands of trees alongside the road leading to Bangalore international airport.
KCVP president Vatal Nagaraj on Thursday accused BBMP of destroying the beauty of the City by felling thousands of trees which had once earned the tag of 'garden city'.
“BBMP seemed to be more worried about providing signal free road connectivity to airport rather than worrying about a common man's needs who struggles to get a pot of drinking water in some parts of the City,” he said.
He said that his party would protest this attitude of the BBMP by bringing buffaloes and camels on the road on March 11.
He also urged the retention of HAL airport even after Devanahalli airport started its operations.