Berhampur: Even as the demand for establishment of an airport at Rangeilunda in Odisha’s Ganjam district is yet to be fulfilled, the state government has decided to use the airstrip for flying training of NCC cadets.
“As flying training of the NCC cadets at airports in Bhubaneswar and Jharsuguda is not possible due to heavy traffic, Rangeilunda airstrip has been found suitable for microlite flying. Construction of the hangars and stowage facilities would be made available for the purpose,” said NCC Group Commander Sachin Gupta. The Department of Commerce and Transport has already sanctioned permission for it, he added.
According to sources, the Department of Higher Education (DHE) and the NCC Directorate Odisha had decided to select unused airstrips in different parts of the state for flying training of the cadets. The NCC Directorate found Rangeilunda airstrip suitable for microlite flying and constructed basic infrastructure for the training. The DHE will facilitate construction of the hangars and stowage facilities at the selected sites, they added.
Two of the 29 NCC units in the state are air squadrons which cover eastern and western regions. The squadron has enrolled over 800 cadets last year. DG NCC had sanctioned two microlite aircrafts and one flying simulator for the squadron. One of the aircrafts allotted to the air squadron was brought to the Biju Patnaik International Airport in June last year. Gupta visited Rangeilunda airstrip on Friday.
Meanwhile, Ganjam district collector Dibya Jyoti Parida and a team from the Commerce and Transport department also visited the airstrip for a scientific and technical assessment to develop it further.
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