Port Blair, July 27: The Lt Governor, Lt Gen A K Singh (Retd), met the Minister of Civil Aviation today and thanked him for the outstanding support the Islands have received from the Ministry to improve the connectivity to the Islands and between the Islands.
The Lt Governor made a request to the Minister to include Shibpur and Campbell Bay (being unserved airports) in the Regional Connectivity Scheme. He also requested that the centre should provide VGF support to the tune of 90 % as is being done for Northeastern States instead of the proposed 80 %. He emphasized the geographical remoteness and the concomitant security imperative attached to these islands for enhanced support. The Minister was informed of the development works being carried out at Shibpur, Car Nicobar and Campbell Bay airports.
During the meeting the held up work at the Port Blair terminal was brought up and Chairman, Airport Authority of India informed that they are seized of the matter and fresh work order could be issued shortly. The LG brought out that in the meantime the present terminal building should be given a facelift before the oncoming tourist season.
The LG brought out the need to continue the CRJ flight via Bhubaneshwar as the same flight goes to Car Nicobar. He was assured that Air India would be starting flight from 01st October as the present lease with CRJ is running out. The unstinted effort of the administration to get these flights was acknowledged by the ministry.
The issue of a larger sized helicopter with 26 passenger capacity was brought out in the meeting. The LG emphasized that these helicopters are a lifeline of the islands and requested that Pawan Hans should induct a larger helicopter at the earliest for which the UT administration was willing to sign an agreement. He also requested that Pawan Hans should replace their existing fleet with newer helicopters so that the capacity could be utilized optionally. He brought out that due to the ageing fleet of Pawan Hans helicopters, they are operating below their designated capacity.
