EMN
DELHI, March 19
Nagaland’s Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha and former Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio today highlighted the problem of poor air services in Nagaland and air connectivity in the north eastern region. He had taken up the matter of poor air connectivity and air services in Nagaland and the north eastern region with the Civil Aviation Ministry and even with the Prime Minister.
Taking up the issue at Zero Hour during the ongoing union Budget Session, Rio said that Dimapur has had an operational airport since 1972 and yet there are only five flights operating in the airport. He regretted that even these five flights have to be shared with Dibrugarh in Assam. In November 2013 a flight was introduced on Mondays but it has been discontinued. Air India is the only airline operating in Dimapur and therefore the civil aviation ministry must ensure that private airlines also extend their service to Dimapur as part of their social responsibility in the difficult areas, he said.
He also brought to the notice of the Central government that the night landing facility that is installed in Dimapur was not being utilized till now. He informed that this facility was used during the visit of the Honorable Prime Minister but the AAI is not using it for commercial flights. This facility should be used for all flights, Rio stated.
Another important issue raised by Rio was the problem of a no fly zone in the flight route to Dimapur. He said that due to this problem, flights to and from Dimapur have to take a longer route which was having an impact on the services, especially the high fares. Rio urged the Air Headquarters of the Defense Ministry to urgently give clearance on the no fly zone for the Dimapur route.
Rio also highlighted that there is very poor intr-connectivity within the north eastern region and called upon the centre to ensure that air connectivity within the region and in between the states is improved with more and better service.
He further called for daily services from Dimapur to Delhi via either Kolkata or Guwahati and vice versa. The MP said that the Dimapur Airport urgently needs to be upgraded and improved.
He said that the world has shrunk into a global village and we are witnessing the fast pace of progress and development in the country, however the north eastern region, particularly Nagaland is still struggling with poor connectivity.
