Bidar air base to be used for civilian operations

With two runways of international standards, the Bidar Air Force base in Karnataka will now be used for civilian operations.

According to Minister in charge of Bidar district Bandeppa Kashempur, the Defence Ministry has approved a proposal to use the Air Force base in Bidar, which is one of the best equipped in the country, for operation of civilian airplanes.

In the wake of the permission from Defence Minister A K Antony, the Karnataka Government has approached the Federal Ministry for Civil Aviation for setting up facilities for operation of civilian aircraft. The facilities include entry and exit gates, gates for taxis, runways and separate landing place for passenger aircraft.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is understood to have promised Government support for starting civil aviation facilities from Bidar Air Force base. The launch of civilian flights from Bidar, situated at the northern-most tip of Karnataka, is expected to air-link different parts of Hyderabad-Karnataka region.

The United States Air Force had built the airstrip at Bidar during the Second World War more than six decades ago. The Allied forces used the airstrip as a rest and refuel point for planes returning from Singapore and nearby areas.

Bidar had been strategically chosen for the airstrip as it was away from New Delhi and Kolkata and considered a safe place. Bidar was connected by both road and rail so that fuel could be imported from the ports in Mangalore and Chennai.

The Nizam of Hyderabad, who then ruled over Bidar, provided land to the Allied forces. The Americans had also laid a rail line from the airstrip to the railway station to facilitate the transportation of oil. The US Air Force managed the Bidar airport almost till the end of World War.

The Federal Government’s decision to allow the use of the Air Force base for civilian aviation is expected to boost industrial development in Hyderabad-Karnataka region, besides tapping the tourism potential in the area.