AAI team begins survey for expansion of Hubli airport

AAI team begins survey for expansion of Hubli airport
The Hindu.com

Staff Correspondent

386.6 acres of land is required, according to master plan of Airports Authority of India

NITTY-GRITTY: Senior officials of Airports Authority of India talking to Minister Basavaraj Horatti (second from left) in Hubli on Thursday. M.S. Srikar, Deputy Commissioner and Pralhad Joshi, MP, are seen.

HUBLI: A three-member team of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) visited the airport here on Thursday to conduct a joint survey along with officials of the State Revenue Department for the proposed expansion of the airport.

The team comprising I.N. Murthy, deputy general manager (Planning), S. Biswas, deputy general manager (Engineering) and M.N. Rao, deputy general manager (Architecture) did a preliminary survey of the airport on Thursday. They also held discussions in this regard with Primary and Education Minister Basavaraj Horatti; Pralhad Joshi, MP; and Dharwad Deputy Commissioner M.S. Srikar.

Residential areas


"The AAI team has been asked to give details of the land required for completing the technical requirements. While we have vacant land on one side of the existing airport, there are some residential areas on the other side. Our efforts will be to avoid residential areas as far as possible," Mr. Srikar told The Hindu .

The AAI has already prepared the master plan for transforming the Hubli airport into an all-weather airport, for which it requires 386.6 acres of land.

HDMC ask police to ban entry of ore trucks

HDMC ask police to ban entry of ore trucks
Source: HDMC Website

Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation has decided to request Hubli- Dharwad Police Commissioner Narayan Nadmani to impose a ban on the entry of iron ore trucks with' immediate effect.

The demand follows lorry owners' association's refusal to pay Rs 1 crore as their contribution towards the building of a seperate bypass road for iron ore trucks without entering Hubli City.

HDMC Commissioner Manivannan told Deccan Herald that the corporation, in its general body meeting recently, had unanimously adopted a resolution urging police authorities to strictly ban the movement of iron ore trucks inside the city as they would damage the new roads laid a cost of Rs 30 crore.

A copy of this resolution has already been sent to the state government as well as Hubli-Dharwad Cammissionerate of police far necessary action.

Since lorry owners association has refused to contribute its share it had became inevitable far the corporation to ask police authorities to a impose a ban on the entry of iron, ore trucks into Hubli. "The HDMC has borrowed Rs 30 crore loan from banks to' improve roads inside Hubli City and we are not ready to allow those trucks to damage them. It is tax payer's money and it has to' be spent for right purpose" .

He said the corporation did not have powers to collect toll from those trucks. That job had to be done by the government alone by stationing men and machines at various points. One of the options before the HDMC was to request some reputed contractors to take up road construction work on "BOT" (build, operate and transfer) basis so that they could collect toll from such trucks.

HDMC in due consultation with district administration would certainly take an appropriate decision within next one week. "The corporation has a duty to protect interest of citizens and whatever decision we take has to help them".

HDMC ask police to ban entry of ore trucks

HDMC ask police to ban entry of ore trucks
Source: HDMC Website

Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation has decided to request Hubli- Dharwad Police Commissioner Narayan Nadmani to impose a ban on the entry of iron ore trucks with' immediate effect.

The demand follows lorry owners' association's refusal to pay Rs 1 crore as their contribution towards the building of a seperate bypass road for iron ore trucks without entering Hubli City.

HDMC Commissioner Manivannan told Deccan Herald that the corporation, in its general body meeting recently, had unanimously adopted a resolution urging police authorities to strictly ban the movement of iron ore trucks inside the city as they would damage the new roads laid a cost of Rs 30 crore.

A copy of this resolution has already been sent to the state government as well as Hubli-Dharwad Cammissionerate of police far necessary action.

Since lorry owners association has refused to contribute its share it had became inevitable far the corporation to ask police authorities to a impose a ban on the entry of iron, ore trucks into Hubli. "The HDMC has borrowed Rs 30 crore loan from banks to' improve roads inside Hubli City and we are not ready to allow those trucks to damage them. It is tax payer's money and it has to' be spent for right purpose" .

He said the corporation did not have powers to collect toll from those trucks. That job had to be done by the government alone by stationing men and machines at various points. One of the options before the HDMC was to request some reputed contractors to take up road construction work on "BOT" (build, operate and transfer) basis so that they could collect toll from such trucks.

HDMC in due consultation with district administration would certainly take an appropriate decision within next one week. "The corporation has a duty to protect interest of citizens and whatever decision we take has to help them".