Lifeline For Odisha’s Mineral-Rich Jharsuguda, PM Modi Inaugurates Region’s First Airport 

On 22 September (Saturday), Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Odisha’s second airport at Jharsuguda. The region is mineral-rich and serves as a lifeline in the western area of the state. This is bound to attract investors, PM Modi said as quoted in Live Mint.

The Jharsuguda airport will act as a junction for Raipur and Ranchi. Development of the eastern states like Odisha, Bengal and Assam is essential to achieve balanced development, he added.

Jharsuguda airport is named after freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai. Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, thanked the Prime Minister for the gesture. He requested the quick introduction of regular commercial flights from the airport. The state government has provided land for the airport.

PM Modi also opened the Garjanbahal open cast mine belonging to Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd which contains reserves of 230 million tonnes of coal blocks. The employment generated, directly and indirectly, is up to 6,000.

The airport has been developed by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Odisha government at a cost of Rs 210 crore. A sum of Rs 75 crore was contributed by the state government. The development of the airport is under the central government’s much successful UDAN scheme and is spread over 1,027 acres. The runway is 2.4 km long. The airport can operate at night and in all-weather conditions for A-320 aircraft.