Opposition in Bihar cries foul over AAI nod to airport in Nitish Kumar's home district Nalanda

The search for a location for a new airport in Bihar is finally over. But the people of Patna will have to travel about 100 km from the city to catch a flight.

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has given its nod to set up the new airport inNalanda- the home district of CMNitish Kumar- instead of Patna.

The existing Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport in the state capital has been declared "dangerous" - thus the proposal to shift it.

But the AAI zeroing in on Nalanda has raised the hackles of the state opposition parties.

Calling the move "impractical" because of the distance between the proposed location and Patna, they alleged that Nalanda had been selected to favour the CM and his home district.

Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president Mehboob Ali Kaiser said: "It takes two to three hours to reach Nalanda from Patna if there is no traffic," he said. "It will not take less than two hours even if an expressway is made to connect the capital with Nalanda." The party is now seeking the intervention of the Congress high command to stall the move.

Senior party leader Prem Chandra Mishra said: "The decision is impractical. It has been taken to benefit the CM's home district."

He added that shifting the airport would cause problems for women and children who often travel alone. "What about their security? How will they reach if they have to catch a late-night flight?" he asked.

The opposition leader in the state assembly, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, said the new airport should have been located near Patna. "It should be set up at Maner or any other place nearby," he said.

Nitish has denied he had a hand in the proposal to shift the airport. He said an airport had been mooted in Nalanda in the light of the terms of reference of the upcoming Nalanda International University, which needed air connectivity.

He said he came to know of the proposal during a recent meeting of the university's monitoring committee. "We will start acquiring land once AAI finalises the exact location," the CM said.

According to Nitish, the AAI had shelved its plan to expand the existing Patna airport.

He also said the new university was first proposed to be set up at Bihta near Patna. "A team of AAI officials visited Bihta last year but they were told that land acquisition was not possible there as large tracts of land of local farmers had already been acquired for various projects," Nitish said.

He insisted Nalanda would be reachable from Patna by road in 50 minutes in the future. "Many four-lane highways are coming up on the route," he said, adding: "Most airports in the country are located far away from cities."

Meanwhile, a two-member AAI team inspected the Patna airport and expressed reservations over grant of licence for air operations from there. The airport has been declared unfit for the landing of big aircraft because of its short runway caused by the obstructions around it.