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Will Kannur Airport snatch passengers from Mangaluru Airport?

coastaldigest.com news network
October 1, 2017

Mangaluru: Even though Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) director V V Rao has rubbished the possibilities of losing passengers to Kerala’s fourth international airport, which is expected to be commissioned within a few months, his counterpart at Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL) has spelt out a greater competition.

If everything goes as expected commercial operations at Kannur Airport would commence by mid-2018. Already 95% of the work on the air-side and 90% of the work of the integrated terminal building of the Airport are over. Apron, flyover, service roads, fire rescue station, IMD’s met park, STP, service block and auxiliary buildings have been completed a few months ago.

Unlike Mangaluru Airport, Kannur Airport is built on a public private partnership (PPP) model, in which the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has an equity stake of 10 percent, the state 35 percent, public sector units 25 percent and investors 30 percent. The new airport would have a handling capacity of 4.67 million passengers and 60,758 tonnes of cargo per annum by 2026, in addition to being able to handle 39,638 aircraft movements yearly with peak aircraft movement at 18 per hour.

According to Rao, international and domestic passengers from Kasaragod and Kodagu region would never prefer Kannur Airport over Mangaluru Airport. He opines that only passengers from Kannur area, who were boarding flights from Calicut airport, may use Kannur Airport, but not those from Mangaluru region.

On the other hand, Managing Director of KIAL P Bala Kiran is expecting passengers not just from Kasaragodu and  Kodagu regions but also from Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Mysuru and coastal districts of Karnataka too as the new Airport is expected to handle more Gulf flights.

The KIAL authorities are also planning to hold talks with Karnataka government towards development of Kodagu and Kannur Road via Virajpet. The Centre’s consent towards the survey of Mysuru-Thalassery Rail line via Madikeri as announced in the recent budget will be a stimulus in the promotion of tourism and goods services.

“Kannur Airport looks for business from passengers who have been depending on either Kozhikode or Mangaluru Airports. Moreover, we have enough land for setting up allied business centres to boost the business for airlines. We will also give aprons for night stay for aircraft,” the chief project engineer of KIAL, told coastaldigest.com.

Gulf Airlines

Even five years after obtaining international tag, Mangaluru Airport has failed to attract foreign airlines, whereas many Gulf-based airlines have expressed desire to operate services to the Kannur even before the commissioning of the Airport. Apart from Air India, Air India Express, GoAir, Air Arabia, Qatar Airways, Air Asia India, Ethihad Airways, Jet Airways, Silk Air, Gulf Air, Oman Air, Spice Jet, Emirates, Fly Dubai, and Indigo are the airlines that have come forward.

The Runway

After 2010 Mangaluru air crash, the AAI had proposed to expand MIA’s new runway. The existing runway meets the requirements of Airbus 320/321 and Boeing-737 aircraft. Expansion is must to felicitate the landing of wide-bodied aircraft like Boeing-777 and Boeing-747. However, recently the AAI took a U-turn and indefinitely postponed its proposed runway expansion plans. AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra recently wrote to Karnataka Chief Secretary Subhash Chandra Khuntia saying the expansion project is not feasible.

Quoting AAI, Rao said that the runway expansion project cost turns out to be too high, financially not viable and there is no guarantee that wide-bodied aircraft will land at the Airport even if huge amount is invested in extending the runway. Even if the runway is extended from the existing 2,450 metres to at least 3,050 metres (minimum requirement for wide-bodied aircraft to land), the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) may not give permission for it as it is a table top runway, he says.

On the other hand, Kannur Airport has a grater runway. The construction of a 3050 m runway began in Q4 2013 and completed on 29 April 2016. In September 2016, the KIAL board decided to increase the runway length to 4000m (13,123 ft) in Phase I itself along with a full parallel taxiway to enhance safety as reported earlier. When completed, Kannur will be the fourth airport in India to have a runway length of 4000 m after Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Kodagu farmers upbeat

In the absence of the airport, the coffee planters and farmers in Kodagu involved in pepper cultivation, orange and anthurium farming were yearning for a better market.

Even if the farmers wanted to export their produce to other countries where such crops are much in demand, they were dependent on Bengaluru or Mumbai Airports. Although there was much demand for orange and anthurium in Gulf countries, the lack of facilities had become a hurdle.

Now, they see a ray of hope in the upcoming Kannur Airport, which may not only create further demand for native products, but also boost tourism, feel the representatives of Kodagu District Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KDCCI). Recently a team of KDCCI also held talks with their counterparts from North Malabar Chamber of Commerce and Industry from Kerala towards promoting tourism opportunities.

Comments

Tom
 - 
Monday, 2 Jul 2018

Let India progress. Let there be a healthy competition for the over all growth of our country. Kannur's main competion should be with Kochi. Let all the airports in India rise above the Indian standard!

faheem
 - 
Thursday, 12 Apr 2018

I will choose kannur airport, because price will be less, i request more flights from kannur to gulf region.

ali
 - 
Thursday, 7 Dec 2017

As a mangalorean it is better to land in Kannur in order to get relief from trouble by saffron authorities for no reason.

Sameer
 - 
Wednesday, 8 Nov 2017

I am from Mangalore, I will definitely use Kannur Airport. Mangalore Airport staff/authorities are infamous for mistreating the passengers. Last year, they didn't return my visa copy. I had to ask for it. 

 

Recently, after arrival they took more than 1 and half hour to release the luggage from the aircraft to the belt. All passengers were waiting tirelessly.

 

Rizwan
 - 
Monday, 2 Oct 2017

Some mangalorean May use Kannur to avoid  the mangalore table top runway & trouble of  air indiA express staff and flight.

Ahmed K. C.
 - 
Monday, 2 Oct 2017

Those passengers from Northern Kerala presently using Mangalore airport would surely use Kannur airport in future. Also those people from around Mangalore who are troubled by authorities at Mangalore may also move towards Kannur airport. 

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 4,2020

Mangaluru, Jul 4: The General Secretary of the Dakshina Kannada district unit of Bharatiya Janata Party’s youth wing (Yuva Morcha) has been tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.

In a tweet, Sooraj Jain Marnad, has confirmed that he was tested positive for COVID-19.

"I have been tested COVID19 positive. With all your blessings, I’m recovering & will be under treatment for a few days," the tweet said.

The district has witnessed a huge spike in COVID-19 cases in the past few days. The total tally of the district has already crossed 1000 mark. 22 COVID-19 positive patients in the district have died so far.

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News Network
July 4,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 4: Amid the rising COVID-19 cases in the state, the Karnataka COVID-19 Task Force has decided to set up booth-level committees across the state including 8,800 here for effective monitoring and surveillance.

The task force also released detailed guidelines for home isolation for asymptomatic cases including 17 days ''home isolation'' for patients below 50 years of age. It also warned of legal action against those health workers for disrespect to the bodies.

Briefing reporters after the meeting on Friday, Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said the local management will be strengthened for effective monitoring and surveillance of COVID-19 cases. "There will be booth-level task force committees throughout the state right from the village to Bengaluru.

These task force committees will act at the ultra local level. The task force will act as a structural and functional unit of COVID-19 dealing with monitoring, surveillance, checking of all the ILI cases, ambulances and hospitals," he added.

He also said the committees will comprise one member each from the Health department, police department, municipalities or Panchayat, volunteers, valveman. The committee will have five to six members.

The principal secretary in the Village Development and Panchayat Raj department L K Ateeq has been appointed as the nodal officer to manage the task force in the rural areas whereas in the urban areas, the Urban Development secretary, the municipal administration directors and the municipal commissioner will form the local task force.

"In Bengaluru alone 8,800 teams will be formed, which will be coterminous with the 8,800 booths in the city. They will provide the real-time data. They will be imparted training," the minister added. Noting that there were about 8,800 electoral booths in Bengaluru city and each booth will have a task force committee, he said a nodal officer has been appointed to oversee this.

The state level task force also came out with a slew of conditions. As far as home isolation is concerned, it would apply for patients who are below 50 years and have no symptoms of any other disease, and their homes should have a toilet and have an attendant.

He also said home isolation duration has been increased from 14 to 17 days. "People should not get fever in the next three days after completing 14 days, else they will be quarantined for another seven days. If they don''t get fever then they will be freed to perform their personal activities," Sudhakar said.

Those who are above 50 years and have comorbidities, will be treated at the COVID care centres only and they will be under medical supervision and be subjected to regular tests. The state is also making arrangements for telecommunication for those who are asymptomatic but wish to speak to a doctor.

It was also decided to have at least two ambulances in each of the 198 wards of Bengaluru. The minister said the additional commissioner of police (traffic) will be the nodal officer to coordinate the movement of ambulances. The task force has also appointed a nodal officer to manage the hospitals based on the availability of beds and ventilators. The officer will provide real time information about beds.

"We want to make sure that no one has to run from one hospital to another," Sudhakar said. On the cremation of the bodies, Sudhakar said guidelines have been issued on how to handle bodies at mortuaries, taking them in the ambulances, human treatment to the deceased while performing the last rites and fumigation of the bed. "Legal action will be taken against those who treat bodies in an inhuman way," Sudhakar said.

The state-level task force has also decided to arrange for test reports within 24 hours. It has also been decided to increase the testing capacity from the existing 15,000 a day to 25,000. In view of the spurt in COVID-19 cases, the task force also recommended antigen tests in crowded areas to check whether there was community spread.

To a question on closing down the border, the minister said there is no question of lockdown. "We cannot hide from this disease. It is not a solution. We have to live with it now, yet maintain a distance from it," he added. Sudhakar, who is a doctor himself, said COVID-19 is not as deadly a virus as those he had seen in the past and asked people not to be scared of it.

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News Network
July 29,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 29: The Karnataka High Court’s division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice H P Sandesh today rejected an application that wanted Amulya Leona’s case to be transferred from Karnataka Police to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The bench, while observing that extraordinary jurisdiction can’t be exercised for transferring the case to the NIA, asked “What is so special that investigation should be transferred to NIA?”

The court, in its previous hearing, had questioned the maintainability of the petition seeking transfer of the sedition case against Leona to the NIA.

According to the petitioner, advocate Pavana Chandra Shetty, the case is a serious matter against national integration and unity and has not been investigated properly by the police. The state police also failed to file the chargesheet within 90 days, he said, and also asked for cancellation of her bail.

The bench asked the petitioner as to how a bail, already granted to a person, can be cancelled. “Is it not the indefeasible right of the accused to be released on bail if chargesheet is not filed within stipulated time? How can you make a prayer for cancellation of bail?”  the Court asked.

The counsel for the petitioner also stated that in cases of a cognizable offence, when the chargesheet is purposely not filed within the stipulated time, the matter will have to transferred to the appropriate authority.

The court responded to his contention by asking him how could the court override law and cancel the bail. “Where is the question of cancellation of bail? Can we override the law and say that bail should be cancelled?” said the bench.

Advocate Vishal Raghu had filed the petition for transfer of Leona’s case, who was accused of raising pro-Pakistan slogans at an anti-CAA rally on February 20 at Freedom Park. The advocate had blamed the probe team for not filing a chargesheet on time and has asked the state government to approach the higher court against bail granted to Leona.

Bengaluru student Amulya Leona was charged with sedition for her actions in the presence of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi. She was arrested by the Bengaluru police for allegedly shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans at an anti- CAA Protest in Bengaluru in February this year. On June 11, she was granted conditional bail by the Bengaluru civil court.

Her bail plea was earlier rejected by a Bengaluru court, after she had spent a three-month period in jail, stating that she may abscond if she is released. The sessions judge Vidhyadhar Shirahatti had also stated that if the petitioner is granted bail, she may abscond and may involve in similar offence which affects peace at large and hence her petition is liable to be rejected. The court had also noted that Amulya Leona is an influential person who may threaten and influence the witness and hamper the case in case of the prosecution and will abscond if released on bail.

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