PM urged to shift airport project from Balh valley to Jahu
Mandi, February 24
Residents of Sarkaghat area in the district have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to construct an airport in the Jahu area instead of Balh valley.
A delegation led by Zila Parishad member of Navahi ward Munish Sharma met the Deputy Commissioner (DC) yesterday and submitted a demand letter to the Prime Minister through the DC. Several area residents have signed the letter to apprise the PM of their wish.
Munish Sharma said, “I visited door-to-door in more than 300 villages in 77 days and interacted with the people on this issue and collected their signatures.”
“Balh valley has historically been an agricultural region, which is also known as mini Punjab, for mainly cultivation of vegetables. Due to the construction of the airport at the proposed place, around 2,000 families will be displaced. Only 14.86 per cent of the land in Himachal Pradesh is cultivable. Hence, it is not logical and fair to acquire the extremely fertile land of Balh valley for the construction of the airport,” he added.
“Farmers of Balh valley are also continuously protesting against the land acquisition for this project in the area. Due to excessive fog in the winters and flood-like conditions during the rainy season, this place is not suitable for the construction of an airport,” he said.
“The Jahu region is geographically located in the middle of Himachal Pradesh and is the centre of three districts — Mandi, Hamirpur and Bilaspur. It is suitable for the construction of an airport as per climate. There is enough land available for constructing a large airstrip (3,150 meters). It is possible to build an airport here in one-fourth of the budget as compared to Balh,” Munish said.
“It is possible to connect the Jahu area with Kiratpur-Manali by road through the tunnel, leaving the distance between Jahu and Balh valley only 10-12 km. It is also possible to connect Jahu with Bilaspur district through a under-construction railway line,” he claimed.
Munish said the struggle would be intensified at every level to shift the proposed project from Balh valley to Jahu.
