Meghalaya's Second Airport Turns White Elephant

Shillong, Apr 4 : Almost two years after President Pratibha Patil had formally inaugurated the ambitious Baljek Airport, no plane has so far taken off from the virgin runways.

Built at a cost of around Rs 12.77 crore, almost twenty years were spent behind the second airport in the state.

Located about 35 km from West Garo Hills district headquarters Tura and about 160 km from the Guwahati Airport, Baljek was intended to enhance communication facilities for the promotion of emotional and economic integration of the country.

"Due to ill planning, the Baljek airport, though completed, remains inoperative. The possibility of operation in near future is also remote as the cost for improvement and development of existing airport (Rs 80 crore), estimated to be over six times of the expenditure (Rs 12.77 crore)