Kittur intl airport plan baffles people in NK cities

Belagavi: The people of Belagavi and Hubballi are baffled by the government's plan to build an international airport in Kittur, 50km from the city. As announced by industries minister Murugesh Nirani, establishing an international airport at Kittur is a dream of this government. Once done, the airports at Belagavi and Hubballi will become domestic operations.
Although the government is claiming that this is part of the infrastructure development exercise to attract quality investors, local people have wondered on the need for another airport within 100km. Hubballi and Belagavi already have airports and thanks to the UDAAN scheme, the Belagavi airport has grown to become the third busiest airport in the state.
“There is no need for another airport between Belagavi and Hubballi. If the government executed the plan, both Belagavi and Hubballi airports will lose out. Instead, the government can upgrade one of the existing airports to an international one. Belagavi airport can operate international flights. In necessary cases, we have international airports nearby in Goa and Mangaluru,” Vikas Kalaghatagi, a former president of Belgaum Chamber of Commerce Industries, said.
BCCI president, Rohan Juvali, said: “Establishment of the international airport will give a further boost to the region. There is nothing wrong in doing it. Let the government do it. We must support it. As the government has announced an ‘industrial corridor’ along the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway-4, an international airport at Kittur will be a boon,” he said.
Mahadev Karmari, vice-president of Hubballi-Dharwad Development Forum, said the Centre has announced a 1,000-km area between Bengaluru and Mumbai as an infrastructure corridor. It’s a special investment region and Kittur is in centre of the region. Moreover, the Hubballi to Belagavi stretch along the Pune-Bengaluru NH-4 is considered as a special investment zone, where Kittur is located.
Nirani said on Tuesday that “quality investors ask for better infrastructure to invest. They need international airports, national highways, rail connectivity and ports nearby. We will develop all this at Kittur.”