Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the Shivamogga airport on Monday that has a lotus-shaped terminal, the inauguration day coincides with the birthday of Karnataka BJP strongman and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. The airport is named after Kuvempu, the first Kannada writer to win the Jnanpith award, who also hails from Shivamogga.
This airport has been made at a cost of around 450 crore and the passenger terminal building can accommodate 300 passengers per hour. This airport will improve India’s air connectivity and the people living in the neighboring Malnad region will get direct accessibility.
The Shivamogga airport’s landing strip was tested by the Indian Air Force with a successful landing with a passenger jet. B Y Raghvendra a Member of Parliament said that the new airport will help in creating lakhs of employment opportunities for the youth, he also stated that this airport will benefit industries like IT, tourism, dairy etc.
This Greenfield domestic airport is located in Sogane in Shivamogga district and it has been constructed under the Centre’s UDAN scheme that aims at making air travelling affordable to all. The airport is situated on 662.38 acres of land and has a runway, terminal building, fire station, ATC tower, taxiway apron, approach road, peripheral road and compound wall.
While addressing the people during the inauguration ceremony of the airport PM Modi said that Shivamogga airport is grand and beautiful. At this airport, one can see the combination of Karnataka’s tradition &technology. This is not just an airport. It is the drive for a new journey of the dreams of the youth of this area. This is PM Modi’s fifth visit to Karnataka where assembly elections are due by May.