2nd Airport Row Heats Up; AAI Inspects Two Locations

The government's proposal for Bengaluru's second international airport has sparked differences between the state government, and a group of 42 members of legislative assembly (MLAs) who have pushed for Sira, in Tumakuru district, as the final location.

- Arun Dev

BENGALURU:

This comes even as a technical team from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) inspected two of the three government shortlisted sites—Chudahalli and Somanahalli along Kanakapura Road, and a third site on Nelamangala-Kunigal Road.

While the state government has shortlisted the three sites closer to Bengaluru, a group led by senior Congress leader TB Jayachandra has urged the government to consider Sira, about 120 km to the north-west of Bengaluru. Meanwhile, concerns over viability, investor interest, and regulatory hurdles continue to shape the ongoing discussions.

Amid the ongoing evaluations, Congress leader and Sira MLA TB Jayachandra, who also serves as Karnataka's special representative in New Delhi, said that a petition signed by 42 MLAs was submitted to chief minister Siddaramaiah on April 3, urging him to consider Sira for the new international airport.

He argued that the town's location offers long-term strategic advantages, being close to HAL's helicopter factory and the DRDO facility at Challakere in neighbouring Chitradurga.