Arunachal Pradesh government has named the under-construction greenfield airport in the state capital as “Donyi Polo Airport”. As per reports, the decision to rename the airport was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by state Chief Minister Prema Khandu. The airport which has been built under the Centre’s Capital Connectivity Scheme at a cost of Rs 645 crores, will start operations from August 15.
The name of the only airport in the capital city, according to the official, would represent the long-standing customs and rich cultural legacy of the tribally dominant state and would also reflect the long-standing indigenous respect for the Sun (Donyi) and the Moon (Polo) among the populace. The Airport Authority of India has undertaken a Rs 650 crore project to develop the airport to boost air connectivity in the mountainous areas.
The North-Eastern Connectivity:
The “Donyi Polo Airport” in Itanagar would be Arunachal Pradesh`s third airport after Pasighat and Tezu airports and northeast India`s 16th airport. The Chief Minister had earlier said that work on the airport is on war-footing and shall be made operational soon. Currently, there are 15 operational airports in the northeastern region -Guwahati, Silchar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur, Lilalabari, and Rupsi (Assam), Tezu and Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh), Agartala (Tripura), Imphal (Manipur), Shillong (Meghalaya), Dimapur (Nagaland), Lengpui (Mizoram) and Pakyong (Sikkim).
