Jamshedpur set to get air connectivity under Centre's Udaan scheme

Air services between Jamshedpur-Kolkata and Jamshedpur-Bhubaneswar are likely to be launched from October 30 with a nine-seater aircraft from Sonari Aerodrome.

The steel city of Jamshedpur is all set to get air connectivity under the Union government's Udaan scheme soon, said a senior official of the East Singhbhum district on Friday.

Air services between Jamshedpur-Kolkata and Jamshedpur-Bhubaneswar are likely to be launched from October 30 with a nine-seater aircraft from Sonari Aerodrome, said additional district magistrate (law and order), Nandkishore Lal.Deputy development commissioner Saurabh Sinha and Lal, along with aerodrome officials, fire department officials, Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee representatives and deputy superintendent of traffic Kamal Kishore held a meeting over the issue and discussed security and fire safety arrangements."We have trained 49 security personnel to be deputed at the aerodrome and 12 of them are already providing their services," the officer added.Earlier, airlines, such as MDLR, Vayudoot and Deccan Airways, had launched flights to nearby cities such as Kolkata and Ranchi from Sonari aerodrome, with small aircraft, but had ultimately stopped services.The demand to re-establish air connectivity has been a long pending demand from businesses in the area as well as the state government.Meanwhile, BJP claimed the proposed launch of air services from Jamshedpur was the outcome of a meeting between Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia and its leader Kunal Sarangi, BJP spokesperson, over the issue recently.On the sidelines of the inauguration of Deoghar airport by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 12 last, Sarangi in a press statement said he had submitted a memorandum to Scindia urging him to start air service with charter plane under the government's Udaan scheme from the steel city till a big airport comes up.

Jamshedpur is Jharkhand's industrial capital and it is necessary to have air connectivity in the era of globalization, said Sarangi.

Referring to a proposed new airport at Dhalbhumgarh, about 55 kms from here, under Ghatsila sub-division, Sarangi said an MoU between the Airport Authority of India and the Jharkhand government was signed to construct an airport in 2019 but no progress has been made so far.

The foundation stone of Dhalbhumgarh airport was laid in January 2019.