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Shirdi to get an airport
Poonam Singh
Devotees of Sai Baba, the saint from Maharashtra, will soon be able to fly to Shirdi in Ahmednagar district. The Maharashtra Airport Development Company is planning to develop the airport on 500 acres of land some 3 km from the shrine, spread across Sonewadi and Savalivihirbudruk villages. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 30 crore.
The Maharashtra government will provide 80 per cent of the land for the project and MADC will acquire the remaining 20 per cent with the help of the talati (village accountant). Says R.C. Sinha, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the company, "The government has approved the project in principle. As soon as the government transfers the land it has promised, we will start construction and complete the project in 12 months time."
The airport will have a terminal building, cafeteria, airline offices, parking, a 3,000-metre long runway and night landing facility. MADC will also construct a one-km two-lane road from Shirdi-Kopargaon road to the airport site. A 50-room hotel facility would be set up through a private developer adjacent to the airport.
[26 September 2005]
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