A fortnight after the closure of Begumpet airport in the heart of Hyderabad, residents of 18 housing colonies in the vicinity are complaining of a different sort of problem.
HYDERABAD: A fortnight after the closure of Begumpet airport in the heart of Hyderabad, residents of 18 housing colonies in the vicinity are complaining of a different sort of problem.
After three decades of being used to the sounds of flights taking off and landing and the constant drone of aeroplanes circling over the airport, residents say they miss the noise.
“I could count the hours by the drone of the aircraft,” says Pratibha Reddy (25), a resident of Motilal Nehru Bagh, which is adjoining the wall of the airport. If it was the first flight out of Begumpet then it had to be 5.30am.”
Even residents of the vast slum next to the airport counted the hours according to the number of flights from the airport. “Whenever a VVIP landed (Sonia Gandhi or Amitabh Bachchan) we could get a very close view form our balconies of the glittering receptions on the tarmac,” says Swapna 18. “Sometimes we even invited our friends to share the fun,” added Rajesh, 21.
Along with the planes the line of eager tourists leaning over the wall to steal a glimpse of the planes taking off and landing from the Bowenpalli side is also missing. Moreover, since the ground and ATC staff of the Airports Authority of India and the domestic airlines have already shifted, licensed maintenance units have stopped clearing garbage around vast the premises since March 24. The runway and tarmac have lost their shine and recent rains have created water pools.
There have been encroachments from the Rasoolpura and Sanatnagar side after the AAI removed the electric fence, as locals stray with their buffaloes and donkeys. Just about half-a-dozen security guards on motorbikes keep watch over the entire 5500-acre airport area. The security agency officials say their brief is to keep trespassers away.
There is speculation that the state government plans to allow operation of intra-state flights of all airlines - Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati -from the Begumpet airport. Chief minister YS Rajasekahra Reddy has announced that GMR, the operator of the new airport, will be compensated for any loss of revenue from such operations.
But a final decision is yet to be taken.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}