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UP speeds up Ayodhya airport land acquisition

Lucknow: The UP government has given a push to the construction of a full-fledged airport in Ayodhya by initiating the acquisition of nearly 280-acre land for the facility, even as it plans to organize Deepotsav on a bigger scale than last year.

Confirming the development, UP civil aviation director, Surya Pal Singh Gangwar, said on Monday that the land will be acquired with the consent of owners.



“The Ayodhya administration has identified three villages around the existing air strip whose land would be acquired and the initial land acquisition proceedings have been completed,” Gangwar told TOI.

The existing air strip is over 1.5km long and 30m wide, enough for landing of nine-seater aircraft. For bigger commercial aircraft, the airstrip needs to be 45m wide and 2.5km long, said experts. Besides, there should be at least 100-150m set-off area on either side of runway.

In an internal note sent by the Airport Authority of India to UP civil aviation department in October last year, it said the state government needs to draft a master plan envisaging acquisition of at least 284 acres around the existing airstrip for its expansion that would enable landing of a 200-seater A-321 aircraft.

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