Odisha CM Biju Patnaik's Dakota plane to return home soon

BHUBANESWAR: The iconic Dakota plane used by Biju Patnaik to make a daring rescue in 1947 of Sultan Sjahrir, the then Prime Minister of Indonesia, may soon find a pride of place in Bhubaneswar airport, named after the former chief minister.
The old, dilapidated and abandoned Dakota DC-3 has been lying in a remote part of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.
The aircraft bearing registration no. W-AU1 belonged to erstwhile Kalinga Airlines, which was founded by Biju, an ace pilot and father of chief minister Naveen Patnaik. The aircraft is about 64 feet and 8 inches long, with its wings stretching to 95 feet.
"We expect the Dakota to arrive in Odisha tentatively by January 16. Since the aircraft will be transported by road, the exact date of arrival depends on the foggy weather and road conditions. An expert agency was selected through a tendering process to transport the aircraft to the state," Suranjita Jena, additional secretary of state commerce and transport departments, told TOI.
"The agency will dismantle the wings of the aircraft during transportation and reassemble them after reaching here," Jena added.
The state government started the process to bring back the Dakota plane in 2017. On December 13, 2017, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had written to the state government and proposed to shift the plane from Kolkata.
"It will be a fitting tribute to the legendary Biju Patnaik if the aircraft is positioned near the city airport," said S M Mohanty, a historian.