Staff Reporter

Shillong, Sept 28: The cow protection group led by Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati Ji Maharaj has threatened to file a petition before the Supreme Court against the airport authorities for denying them permission to take off from Agartala to Shillong Airport today.

This came after the state government’s request for denial of permission of landing to the chartered flight of cow protector/vigilante to Shillong airport citing law and order situation in Meghalaya.

“Due to certain law and order situation at Meghalaya as intimated by the state administration as well as the Airport Director Shillong Airport, the departure of the said non-scheduled flight from Agartala to Shillong is hereby not permitted,” an official source said here.

The denial of permission has forced the group to cancel its visit to Shillong. The proposed visit of Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati is to propagate a ban on cow slaughter. Registering strong opposition, NGOs were camping outside the Shillong Airport to protest against the arrival of Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati.

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A spokesperson of the group, Raja Saksham Singh Yogi said, “We are going back to Guwahati (from Agartala) but will do legal proceedings against the Airport authorities. Very soon we are just talking to our legal advisor to file the case against both Shillong and Agartala airport authorities.”

“We are going back to Guwahati as we don’t want to create any kind of mess or disturb the law and order. But will file a petition in supreme court soon,” he added.

Yogi said, “We were coming peacefully just to share our feelings not to disturb anyone.”

Yesterday, the Meghalaya government had written to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to deny the landing of a chartered flight of the leader of a cow protection group at Umroi airport today.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary DP Wahlang.

District administrations of both East Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi have also promulgated section 163 of the BNSS prohibiting holding of such cow protection rallies.

Meanwhile, the central puja committee (CPC) had also made it clear that they are not supporting the cow protection group and their move to hold a rally to declare cow as mother of the nation in Shillong on October 2.

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Sept 27: Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati Ji Maharaj will be arriving at the Shillong Airport by charter plane tomorrow. His visit is to propagate a ban on cow slaughter.

Informing this today, National Media Coordinator Shailendra Yogiraj Sarkar said, “He (Avimukteshwaranand) will reach the airport at 12pm and install the cow flag in the morning under the Gau Dhwaj Sthapana Bharat Yatra, demanding to declare cow as the mother of the nation and to enact a central law to stop cow slaughter.”

Earlier today, the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) and the Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) went to the Shillong Airport at Umroi to protest against the visit of Avimukteshwaranand to Shillong for the purpose of holding the cow protection rally.

The protest was based on reports that Avimukteshwaranand would be arriving at the airport at 12 noon today. After waiting for almost two hours, the protesters were informed that the visit had been postponed to tomorrow.

HYC president Roykupar Synrem said that activists of the council will again stage a protest tomorrow at the Umroi Airport, to ensure that such people are not allowed to put feet on our land.

“We will ensure their journey to Meghalaya only ends in the airport,” he said while reiterating “we will not allow them to come here and dictate on how we should live and what we should eat. As was done in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, we too, we will not allow them to step in our state.”

“If the district administration or the government allow such people to come to Shillong, we are ready to take stern action and the deputy commissioners of Ri Bhoi and East Khasi Hills along with the government led by Conrad K Sangma will have to take full responsibility in case of law-and-order breakdown,” Synrem warned.

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Sep 23: The state government has decided to seek exemption from the Centre on certain guidelines to pave way for the expansion of the Shillong Airport.

The state cabinet will also convene tomorrow to clear the proposal of acquiring an additional 22 acres of land for the expansion project to allow big aircrafts to land in the Shillong Airport.

This was informed by the Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar after an inspection to the Shillong Airport here.

He also held a meeting with the officials from the Civil Aviation Ministry and Airport Authority. Also present were chief secretary, commissioner & secretary and officials from the transport department.

"The government is very serious about expanding the airport," Dhar told reporters after the meeting.

"We have received the second report from the Airport Authority of India (AAI), which indicated that the possibility is there (to expand the runway of the airport) but there are certain issues, which needs to be taken up with the government of India before proceeding ahead with the expansion project," he said while adding "These related to certain guidelines, where we need the government of India to exempt so that we can bring big aircraft to land in the Shillong airport."

The deputy chief minister said, "If exemption is not considered, the cost will be so much to bear. If we get the exemption, we can expand the airport within a few years from now."

"Further, as per latest survey, we want to avoid hillocks so we will have to extend the runway - 900 meters within our own land. If we have to clear hillocks it will cost over Rs 8000 crores. But there are certain guidelines, we will request the government of India to exempt it to pave the way for expansion of the airport runway," he added.

Dhar further informed that the government was required to acquire additional 22 acres of land for the expansion project of which 16 acres for safety aspects and 6 acres for parking bay for big aircraft.

"In regard to this, the day after tomorrow we will be having a cabinet to clear this proposal and we will move ahead with the government of India," he said.

Dhar said, "As per the plan, more or less Rs 500 crore will be spent by AAI and land acquisition will be spent by the state government."

"If everything is done, the airport will be made 24X7 functional and it can help generate 300-400 jobs both directly and indirectly," he added.

Staff Reporter

Shillong, March 23: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today informed the Assembly that the government is working with the Airport Authority of India and other agencies to expand the existing runway of the Umroi Airport to allow for the landing of larger aircraft.

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“This will enable direct connectivity to the cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, with a huge positive impact on tourism,” Sangma said in his budget speech.

The Umroi airport was operationalized in 2018 and it currently has direct flights to 9 cities including Kolkata and Delhi.

Rs 15.5 crore has been allocated for improving air connectivity in the state.

According to the Chief Minister, improved air connectivity is one of the big triggers for economic growth for Meghalaya.

During an interaction with media persons, Sangma said that the government is not planning to go for a new Greenfield.

Further, the chief minister announced that the Baljek airport will be made operational soon with direct flight connectivity between Shillong and Tura. Heliports will also be built at Shillong and Tura to further enhance air connectivity, he added.