Air show: State government to write to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar
3 Aug 2015 12:24 PM IST
Defence ministry has asked the Goa govt to allot a large patch of land
A view of an earlier airshow held in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: The state government will soon write to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, registering its protests against the “proposal” to shift the biennial AeroIndia show from Bengaluru to Goa.
Mr Parrikar, who took part in the last Aero show in Bengaluru in February this year, had told reporters that the venue would not be changed. But now it is reported that the defence ministry has asked the Goa government to allot a large patch of land to organise Defence Expo and Aero India.
The state government, which has hosted the event for the last 10 editions, has finally decided to seek clarification from the Defence Ministry. Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee confirmed to Deccan Chronicle that the state government is writing a letter to the raksha mantri. Mr Mukherjee said that as the next edition of AeroIndia is only in 2017, there is enough time to clear the confusion.
Aviation experts pointed out that all the previous editions of Aero India were inaugurated by the defence minister, who announced the date for the next air show at the event. But this year, however, it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who remained mum on the next date and venue of the air show. The proposal to shift the venue, however, upset owners of a number of small and medium-scale enterprises located around Bengaluru, as they have to spend a lot more to take part in the expo if it is moved to Goa.
They also questioned the Prime Minister’s dream of popularising Make in India campaign when the local SMEs involved in manufacturing several aviation tools have to shell out more money to display their products.
“Bengaluru has a large presence of Defence Public Sector Undertakings and it will be unnecessary to shift the air show out of Bengaluru. Today, the Defence Minister is asking for the change because he hails from Goa. What if the next Defence Minister belongs to some other state? Will he again shift it to some other state,” wondered a defence expert.
He said that the central government wants to shift the venue of Defence Expo from Ramleela Grounds in New Delhi to Goa for just one year (2016), as the ground is undergoing renovation. “But there is no clear indication from the Defence Ministry on the proposal to shift the air show,” he said. Earlier, several cities, including Agra, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, were considered to be alternatives for the air show venue. “Though there are a large number of positives in conducting a large international event like air show in Bengaluru, over the last few years the Defence Ministry has been pointing out that the scope for expansion of the air space and venue at Yelahanka.
“Swift urbanisation around the air base, which provides training to helicopter and fighter jet pilots, has become a major cause for concern with a section of the government,” aviation experts said.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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