Bhubaneswar: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Odisha Bhartruhari Mahtab on Friday demanded quick steps by the Central government to convert Charbatia airfield in Cuttack district into a full-fledged airport with passenger flight operation.
Raising the issue in Lok Sabha, the Cuttack MP said necessary steps need to be taken for passenger planes to land at Charbatia after developing a full-fledged airport at the earliest.
Charbatia Airport will spur significant growth and development as it will become a key transportation hub in the region.
Stating that the defence airfield at Charbatia Choudwar was constructed by the Americans during the second world war, he said it is being maintained by the air defence. As most of the defence air traffic has shifted to Midnapore in West Bengal, this airfield is scarcely used, he said.
Mahtab said many industries have come up in and around Cuttack and NALCO township is hardly 50 km from this place. Steel plants have also come up in a big way at Kalinganagar, which is 60 km from Charbatia, while Paradip is around 70 km from there.
“Therefore, my demand is that Charbatia airport may be converted into a passenger airport or passenger air traffic may be allowed to land in Charbatia airport so that a large number of people will get benefitted,” the BJP MP said.
