Moily inaugurates diamond jubilee celebrations of Mangalore Airport

Moily inaugurates diamond jubilee celebrations of Mangalore Airport

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, March 13: M. Veerappa Moily, the union minister for law and justice, inaugurated the diamond jubilee celebrations of Mangalore Airport organized by the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in the auditorium of St. Aloysius High School and said in his inaugural address that Mangalore Airport will get the status of international airport by the end of this year.

Further, he said that over 1.77 lakh passengers had boarded flights at Mangalore Airport in 2005 and this year, the number has gone up to 8.5 lakhs, 50 percent of whom are foreigners. The airport needs to be declared as an international airport for this reason alone, he said. The minister also said that the runway can be extended to 13,000sq.ft. if the valley is filled up, adding that 250 acres of land has already been acquired for this purpose. Supporting the demand that the airport should be renamed after Ullal Shrinivas Mallya, who is the architect of DK, he urged the state government to pass a resolution in this regard and send it to the centre for approval.

Criticizing the district’s intellectuals for hindering development activities in the district, he said that one should always consider the next generation and cooperate with the government to build a mighty country for the future. Stating that the undivided DK district was the sixth potentially industrial district in Karnataka with an investment of Rs. 8000 crore, he said that people have now begun resisting progress. Voicing his opinion that progress is impossible unless people change their mindset, he urged people to make sacrifices and devote themselves for the development of the country.

The chief guest of the event MP Nalin Kumar Kateel said that efforts are being made to secure international status for Mangalore Airport and to rechristen it in honor of Mr. Mallya. He also assured that the people of DK are not against development, but only against deception in the name of development. 


 
N. Yogish Bhat, the deputy speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, said that the resolution to rename the Mangalore Airport is scheduled to be tabled in the cabinet after the present session. He said that Rs. 15 crore has been allotted in the budget toward land acquisition to increase the length of the runway, adding that Rs. 35 crore is actually required for this project.

M. R. Vasudeva, the director of the Mangalore Airport, said that when he was appointed as the director of the airport in 2002, the airport had an expenditure of Rs. 6.5 crore and revenue of Rs. 4 crore. Today, the revenue has shot up to Rs. 36 crore and the expenditure is Rs. 30 crore. He said that he is looking forward to the day when the revenue becomes Rs. 40 crore plus Rs. 6 crore profits for the airport.

G. G. Mohandas Prabhu, the KCCI chairman, submitted a memorandum demanding extension of the runway from the current 8000m to 11,000m facilitating the landing and take off of jumbo aircraft, the status of international airport, the establishment of air cargo complex, and the rechristening of the airport in honor of Mr. Mallya.

MLA Ramanath Rai; Ramanath Pradeep, the chairman and general manager of Corporation Bank; K. Thejomaya, the coordinator of the diamond jubilee celebration committee; were also present. The MC was Latha R. Kini, the vice president of KCCI.