Chhattisgarh's red zone to get commercial air connectivity from June 15

The skies in Bastar, infamous for Left Wing Extremism (LWE) will not be confined only to airlift injured jawans or dropping security personnel for operations as the region will soon be aerially linked with

nearby areas through commercial air services from next month.

The common man will now make to the skies of the red zone as the region is getting connected with commercial air services from June 15. The services will operate from the newly built airport in Jagdalpur---the divisional headquarters of Bastar region.

“Secretary with the ministry of civil aviation Rajiv Nayan Choubey has informed Chhattisgarh chief secretary Ajay Singh that the air services to connect Jagdalpur will start from June 15,” state government spokesperson said. The Air Odisha will operate the services on Raipur-Jagdalpur-Visakhapatnam sector.

The service is part of Centre’s plan to provide air services to common people through UDAN scheme designed for regional air connectivity. Air Odisha, now a Joint Venture with Gujarat State Export Corporation Limited (GSEC), Monarch and Air Deccan, won the largest number of routes in Round one under the UDAN scheme of government of India.

It will connect towns like Bhubaneshwar, Utkela, Raipur, Ranchi, Gwalior, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bhavnagar, Salem, Pondicherry, Neyveli, Kadapa, Jharsuguda, Jagdalpur, Vishakhapatnam, Raigarh, among others.  

The commercial air services to connect Bastar region has been in demand for long. The state government had invited private companies to operate the inter-city air services with the state but failed in its efforts.

The UDAN services will link Bastar aerially with Raipur and Visakhapatnam that are well connected with major cities in the country by air.