World War II airport in Assam to get new facelift, CM lays foundation of Rupsi airport

Kokrajhar (Assam), Feb 23: The British had constructed this airport to facilitate the movement and airlifting of men and materials during the World War II. It did serve their military operations in the western Assam region then. It was considered most vital from air operations point of view.

But that was history. And that is being changed now. The Rupsi airpoort will soon be live with operation of air traffic, thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi' vision.

However, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to make air travel affordable to all sections of the society under its ambitious UDAN scheme, this neglected airport has seen the light of the day. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonawal on Friday laid the foundation of this new airport at Rupasi in Kokrajhar district.

This airport when completed is expected to give access of military operations to a number of Bangladesh airports. The airport has a runway of 6000 ft and an area of 35500 sq. mt.

This airport is going to have air communication with the rest of India and neighbouring countries in coming days under UDAN-2. It is planned to be completed by September 2020 with an estimated cost of Rs 69 crore.

Official sources said that the Rupsi airport which was functional during the World War II is located at 70 km from Kokrajhar and 15 km from Dhubri. It was defunct since 1980. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) stated to revive this airport which was considered to be of utmost importance for western Assam where there are no air bases available.

Chief Minister Sonowal said that with the AAI and Civil Aviation department taking interest in this airport, it will be getting a new look. This will facilitate air communication with other parts of India and neighbouring countries as well, he added.

The contract for construction of this airport is given to East India Company that will carry the works in the first phase with an expenditure of Rs 69 crore sanctioned by the Central Government.

Bhumipujan for this project was performed on May 24, 2018 followinf which the land measuring 1071 bighas was handed over the the AAI by the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).

Expressing satisfaction over the project, president and secretary of Rupsi Airport Revival Demand Committee Bimal Oswal and Jyotirmoy Chakraborty said that reopening of this historic airport in the extreme west of Assam after nearly four decades will not only boost the internal air communication but also give impetus to economic and commercial activities.