Warangal : The Centre’s nod for the revival of Mamnoor Airport has come in like a shot in the arm for Warangal. Although the revival of the Nizam-era Mamnoor Airport, a pre-Independence era airstrip, built in 1930 was always on the cards, it never got off the blocks.
It’s been more than three decades since the 20-seater Vayudoot aircrafts made sorties between Warangal and Hyderabad. Since then, it’s like chasing a mirage for the people in Warangal.
The revival of the airstrip has relevance to the growth of Greater Warangal especially against the backdrop of tourism potential the region has. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Ramappa Temple, 1,000 Pillars Temple, Fort, Bhadrakali Temple, the biennial Medaram Sammakka Saralamma carnival and laidback destinations like Laknavaram and Bogatha Waterfalls are some of the tourist-attractive places. The air connectivity is likely to increase tourist footfall especially from abroad.
Already an education hub, Warangal, is on a path to make huge strides in the IT industry. The city has premier institutions like NIT, Kakatiya University, KNR University of Health Sciences, upcoming Tribal University, besides a couple of private varsities, and a good number of engineering and medical colleges.
The Kakatiya Mega Textile Park (KMTP), touted as the biggest ‘fibre-to-fabric’ (end-to-end) facility, and the upcoming rail coach factory etc are set to boost the air traffic.
The Centre’s nod coming in the wake of waiver of the Exclusivity Clause – 5.2.2 by the GMR Group. Earlier, the clause didn’t allow the development of a domestic airport within an aerial distance of 150 km of the RGIA before 2029.
Meanwhile, the Warangal district administration is on a mission mode to acquire 253 acres spread in Nakkalapally, Gunturpally and Gunturpally. The extent of the existing airstrip is 696 acres. The State Government has already sanctioned Rs 205 crore for the land acquisition, indicating its willingness to revive the Mamnoor airstrip.
In a latest development on Saturday, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who reviewed the land acquisition for the Mamnoor airport expansion, directed the officials to send him a monthly report on the progress of the airstrip. “The airport should be like an asset to Warangal,” Revanth Reddy said. He said that the airport should be on the lines of Kochi. Ministers Konda Surekha and Seethakka and legislators from the erstwhile Warangal district were present at the review.
