First plane to land in Idukki on Kerala Piravi Day; NCC's airstrip nearing completion at Vandiperiyar

IDUKKI: If the obstacles are removed, a plane will land in Idukki district for the first time on this Kerala Piravi Day. The NCC's only airstrip in the country is nearing completion at the Sathram near Vandiperiyar. This will be an airstrip for small aircraft which have up to 15 seats. The NCC's two-seater Virus SW-80 aircraft will be the first to land here. Although the airstrip is being set up to provide free flying training to NCC cadets, it will be of great help to the district in case of emergencies.

Construction started on May 21, 2017, on 12 acres of land allotted by the Revenue Department. Construction of 650 m runway out of 1000 m has been completed. There is a hangar to be built to park the planes. The Central Civil Aviation Department had given permission for the landing on June 3. The construction is being carried out by the State Public Works Department. This is the first time that the Public Works Department is constructing an airstrip in the country. So far, Rs 13 crore has been spent on construction.

The NCC has requested an additional 11.5 acres of land for further construction work. However, the forest department has objected to this. The meeting chaired by Vazhoor Soman MLA decided to remove the obstacles by holding discussions at the ministerial level.

This will be the first national-level training centre in the country to provide free flying training to 1,000 NCC cadets every year. 200 cadets will be selected from Idukki itself.