Haj panel wants to include Calicut International Airport as one embarkation point

MALAPPURAM: In the wake of the fullscale reopening of the re-strengthened runway of the Calicut International Airport at Karipur from March, the Kerala State Haj Committee has demanded retendering of the Haj bid to include Karipur as the embarkation point for this year’s operations. The tender notice issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation earlier this month had excluded Karipur from its list of 21 embarkation points despite longstanding demands. To support the demand, the Haj panel pointed out a retender three years ago in which the embarkation point had shifted to Kochi due to the renovation of the runway in Karipur.

“No authorities, including the union minister for civil aviation, have given a satisfactory reply to our queries on why there is an objection to reinstate the embarkation point at Karipur,” the Haj committee chairman Thodiyoor Muhammed Kunhi Musliyar said. There is no going back on the demand as Karipur has all the permanent infrastructural facilities in place. The committee meeting on Saturday would discuss the matter,” he said.

The committee members would also meet Chief Minster Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday to take up the issue with the centre and demand retendering before February 28 which is the closing date of the bid. Meanwhile, all the major political parties are all set to launch a strike afresh raising the demand. The Youth Congress Malappuram committee would conduct a march to the Airport on Saturday which will be inaugurated by M.K Raghavan M.P. Other UDF MLAs and MPs are also set to follow suit.