Number of Indian Americans in elected offices not reflective of their population: Kamala Harris
Amritsar, Amritsar Vikas Manch has reacted strongly, and rightly so, to state government’s apathy to the Majha and Doaba regions in general but particularly to their willful and ruinous schemes to shift all international flights to the fledgeling Chandigarh airport and leave Guru Ramdas Airport Amritsar to do with whatever domestic traffic may offer. In a passionate appeal to the prime minister, a Manch Patron Mr Charanjit Singh Gumtala has drawn his attention to the news published in http://www.ifly.com/amritsar-airport that New Chandigarth Airport IXC is nearing completion, tentatively June 2015 following which international flights from Amritsar Airport would be transferred to new Chandigarh Airport – while Amritsar would then handle only domestic flights.
The Manch leader has expressed apprehensions that the Punjab Government is hell bent on destroying whatever remains of the economy of Amritsar, Majha and Doaba. They have built unfeasible Chandigarh airport with financial help from Haryana but neither the Union Minister of Civil Aviation, nor Air India, nor Jet Airways are prepared to allow any of the new international flights to Chandigarh because they don’t want to hurt the profits of New Delhi Airport. Hence, they now want to divert international flights like Qatar Airways, Turkmenistan Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways and Birmingham and London flights of Air India from Amritsar to Chandigarh, so that Chandigarh Airport survives, no matter what happens to the now widely popular Guru Ramdas Airport Amritsar. He has recalled that the Amritsar Airport was built due to the initiative of Mr. IK Gujral who as PM sanctioned Rs 125 crore. Afterward Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Union Minister Dr Manohar Sigh Gill, Lok Sabha member Mr. Navjot Singh Sidhu took keen interest in its development and it became a world class airport with latest technology although the Punjab Government has no love for the and that they want to take everything of economic value away from it.
Gumtala reminded the PM that when Finance Minister Sh Arun Jaitely visited the Golden Temple Amritsar on 18 August 2014, he had promised to make Amritsar a “dream city”and assured the launch of more international flights from Amritsar to make the city a tourism hub in the true sense of the word.
The Manch patron has request Mr Modi that instead of transferring international flights from Amritsar to Chandigarh, Amritsar should be made a hub like Delhi etc and direct Air India flights to London, Birmingham, Toronto, Vancouver should be introduced. The traffic profile demands it and the Punjabi diaspora needs it.
