Barmer: For the first time, a section of national highway – the Gandhav Bhakasar Section of NH-925 A in South of Barmer- will be used for emergency landing of Indian Air Force aircrafts.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate the Emergency Landing Field (ELF) and also witness aircraft operations on the stretch, which has been constructed in 3.5 Km length, on September 9 ,2021.
This Landing Strip will be able to facilitate landing of all types of Aircrafts of Indian Airforce.
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) had developed a 3.0 Km section of Satta-Gandhav stretch of NH-925A from Km. 41/430 to Km. 44/430 as an Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) for Indian Air Force, which is part of newly developed Two lane paved shoulder of Gagariya-Bakhasar and Satta-Gandhav section having total length of 196.97 Km. and costing of Rs. 765.52 crores under Bharatmala Pariyojana.
According to the Defence Ministry, this project will improve connectivity between villages of Barmer and Jalore districts located on international border. The stretch being located in the western border area will facilitate the vigilance of the Indian Army as well as strengthen the basic infrastructure of the country.
Apart from this Emergency Landing Strip, 3 helipads (size 100 x 30 metres each) have been constructed in Kundanpura, Singhania and Bakhasar villages in this project according to the requirements of the Air Force/Indian Army, which will be the basis for strengthening the Indian Army and security network on the western international border of the country.
The ELF was constructed in a time span of 19 months. The work for this ELF was commenced in July 2019 and was completed in January 2021. The work was carried out by GHV India Pvt. Ltd under the supervision of IAF and NHAI. During normal time the ELF will be used for smooth flow of road traffic. But during the operations of ELF for Indian Air Force order, the service road will be used for smooth flow of road traffic.
Development of roadways as key infrastructure has led to construction of high quality highways and expressways that could be utilized as runways along with some modifications and construction of limited additional infrastructure for operation of various types of aircraft during emergency, the Defence Ministry stated.
-global bihari bureau
