BJP MP and former Union Minister Ramesh Jigajinagi has written to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa urging them to start the airport work in Vijayapura which has been pending for over a decade.
In the letter, a copy of which has been released to mediapersons here, Mr. Jigajinagi said that considering the huge potential of tourism, agriculture and horticulture, the district needs an airport to boost these sectors. He said the government acquired some 727 acres of land near Burnapur village for the purpose and handed over the land to a private agency for construction and maintenance of the airport in 2009.
Later, however, the private agency cancelled the agreement as its demand for more land was rejected by the government.
The letter stated that in June 2015, officials of the Airports Authority of India visited the site for an inspection.
Since the site is around 160 km away from Kalaburagi and 200 km away from Belagavi, it is suitable to have the airport constructed there, the letter stated.
Mr. Jigajinagi said the district, apart from being famous for its monuments such as Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Roza, was also known for horticultural crops like pomegranate, grapes, and lemons, which have great demand internationally, and the airport would help proved the much-needed boost for both tourism and horticulture sectors.
Besides this, since Vijayapura has world-famous monuments such as Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Roza, domestic and international tourist could have an easy access to this district.
Considering these, Mr. Jigajinagi urged the Union Minister to resume works and complete the project in the interest of the district.