A few weeks ago, Mayor Harka Sampang of Dharan made a very absurd analogy between airports and restrooms during a broadcast interview. He compared it to asking why he should build a toilet in his house when his neighbour already has one when asked why there is a need for an airport in Dharan when there is already one in Biratnagar, which is roughly an hour away by road. “So, should I always use my neighbor’s bathroom?” he said.
“We shall build airports” is perhaps one of the most (mis)used campaign promises made by people’s representatives and politicians in Nepal. Sampang’s statement is then not surprising and is indicative of what a majority of people’s representatives in Nepal think about airport construction, even when there is no apparent need for one.“One can cover the distance between Dharan and Biratnagar on a motorcycle or a car in an hour,” said Ramesh Thapa, a Dharan-based businessman. “Why do we need an airport in Dharan then?”
In November last year, Tourism Minister Sudan Kirati ordered the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to undertake a preliminary study of the airport project in Dharan. The distance between Dharan and Biratnagar is less than 40 km and the two cities are connected by a six-lane road.But this is not the first time local leaders have insisted on the construction of an airport in Dharan. In 2003, then mayor of Dharan, Manoj Kumar Menyangbo, took the lead for land management for the proposed airport. Multiple tourism and civil aviation ministers after that—Lokendra Bista Magar in 2011, Bhim Prasad Acharya in 2013, Kripasur Sherpa in 2015, and Jeevan Bahadur Shahi in 2016—made on-site visits to the proposed airport location in Dandaghopa.
A detailed engineering survey and environmental impact assessment were also conducted for the proposed airport. The Civil Aviation Policy 2006 says airports are constructed in view of geographical location, population density, regional balance, tourism promotion, proximity with another airport and potential returns. Generally, the distance between the proposed airport and the nearest airport must be 20 nautical miles (37.04 km) in mountain and hilly regions and at least 40 nautical miles (1 nautical mile=1.852km) in the Tarai and inner Tarai areas.
However, several airports have been built across the country in gross violation of the policy. The list of irregularities carried out in the name of airport construction is long. Selfish motives such as expanding the vote bank and lure of commissions are usually behind such projects which have little “progress” to show after the construction. Several airports that were built at the behest of politicians by transgressing laws and guidelines now lie defunct.
From East to West, there are more than 20 domestic airports in various stages of construction and abandonment.In Sudurpaschim’s Baitadi district, an airport was constructed in 1994. A plane landed there for the first time in 2020, or 26 years later. The then tourism minister Yogesh Bhattarai was aboard that test flight. After a year of its maiden flight, the airport in Patan was closed. The airport’s runway now serves as a grazing ground for cattle, and a scenic spot for youths to make TikTok videos and locals to take leisurely walks.
“There were around 15-16 flights in the year the airport was operational,” said Kishor Khadka, who is the Sudurpaschim province representative of Summit Air, which conducted flights to the Patan airport. “In the beginning, there were two flights a week. Then, when passengers thinned out, there was one weekly flight. The flight quorum was still insufficient and the flights were discontinued.”
According to CAAN, for the airport’s resumption, the government spent around Rs160 million. In the past three years since the resumption of the airport, the government has spent around Rs1.4 million on operational costs. As Patan airport lies in wait for flights and passengers all the while incurring heavy operational costs, the neighbouring districts of Darchula and Dadeldhura, a few hours away, await the inauguration of their own airports.
Gokuleshwar Airport on the bank of the Chameliya River in Darchula is only 12.27 nautical miles from Patan Airport in Baitadi. Rs30 million has already been spent on the airport and an additional Rs200 million is needed for its completion. On 26 December 2021, a meeting of the CAAN chaired by then Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale Magar disbursed Rs1.32 billion for 10 airports in the Sudurpaschim province.
Ale Magar disbursed Rs5 million for the feasibility study of Dadeldhura airport, around nine nautical miles from Patan airport, although the proposed airport goes against section 5.7.1 of the Aviation Policy 2006 which mandates that ‘the distance between the proposed airport and the nearest airport must be generally 20 nautical miles in mountainous and hilly areas’.
The Dipayal airport, in the neighbouring district of Doti, around 17 nautical miles from Dadheldhura, underwent a facelift eight years ago at a cost of around Rs53 million, but was soon stranded because of a lack of passengers. In the past decade, the airport’s operational cost came to Rs8 million. Of the 10 airports in Sudurpaschim, only Dhangadhi and Bajura airports are in regular operation. Planes reach Bajhang and Sanfebagar in Achham only occasionally. Of the budget disbursed by Ale, Rs30 million was allocated for Sanfebagar which hardly receives any flights and as much for Kamal Bazaar (also in Achham) airport’s facelift.
Ale Magar also disbursed Rs25.1 million for Mahendranagar airport, 26 nautical miles from the Dhangadhi regional airport. The Mahendranagar airport, which was established in 1973, underwent a facelift and was inaugurated again in January 2022. While politicians underscore the development of the region and ease of life for the locals of rural areas behind their agendas to build airports, the beneficiaries of such projects in Sudurpaschim, which lacks even basic infrastructure, question the given reasons.
“People are dying here for a lack of basic health service. Locals would benefit more from investment in the health sector instead of this mindless spending spree on airports,” said Ganesh Magar, a local from Dadheldhura who promotes tourism in Sudurpaschim and Karnali provinces. “They could invest in upgrading basic tourism infrastructure and roads instead of spending money on airports that no one uses.”
Source: Here
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