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Shamshabad Airport: The Distance Matters Without Proper Connecting Roads
Posted by Pradeep Sadanapalli | November 9, 2007 | 5,860 views
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Taking an hour-long ride to Shamshabad to catch a flight to Tirupati may sound cumbersome but will be a reality from March 16, 2008, when the Begumpet airport shuts down its commercial operations. But, why can’t Hyderabad have two airports, ask citizens who want Begumpet airport to stay open to cater to a ‘Greater’ Hyderabad’s much greater flying needs. Roli Srivastava finds out:
Ahastily packed bag, a quick coffee, a last minute dash of hair gel and a fifteen-minute ride to the airport just in time for the security check in. This, in a nutshell, is the average frequent flyer Hyderabadis’ preparation for air travel. The Ides of March would change all that when taking a flight would no longer be a hop-skip-jump ride to the airport but involve a lot of planning, including a long drive to Shamshabad, where the new airport would be functional from March 16.
As things stand now, March 15 midnight would spell the end of Begumpet airport operations and as this date draws closer, protests are mounting from people who believe there is no reason to pull down the shutters of an existing facility and that it could still be used for domestic sectors.
The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) wrote to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) about a fortnight ago asking for the Begumpet airport to remain functional even after the one at Shamshabad starts operations next March, saying that the airport’s functioning has been rather glitch-free. In a letter sent to the AAI headquarters, MIM requested for the airport to remain functional keeping in mind people’s convenience, an AAI official said.
And concerns for the change in the airport address are not restricted to a political party alone. While citizen groups have of late started getting active protesting the closure, even budget airlines have voiced their concerns ever since the decision of stopping commercial use of the Begumpet airport was announced.
Technically, the airport won’t really shut down. Among the proposals being considered for its post-March 15 use include an AAI training centre (so far there is only one in Allahabad), a rail link from Begumpet to Shamshabad and even a remote check-in counter giving an option to travellers to check in here. “In any case, ATC and communication will be provided by us only for Shamshabad airport,’’ says Begumpet airport director R K Singla. While the airport is already being used by the Air Force, it may also be used for providing aircraft maintenance facility and also for VVIP movements. “It will be operational for non-commercial activity but commercial operations will not be permitted,’’ says Singla.
Whatever the proposals, the anti-closure brigade points out that it would be a criminal waste of resources to reduce a functioning facility to a non-commercial option that doesn’t help or affect citizens in any way. “In fact, keeping it open would only help in reducing congestion,’’ says V B J Chelikani Rao, president of International Foundation for Human Development, also a former Unesco official, pointing out that a swank Shamshabad airport may not be big enough to cater to the city’s ever-growing flying needs. “We had made a request (to the government) about three months ago suggesting that the Begumpet airport either remain functional or the government privatise it that will only lead to a healthy competition and would work very well for consumer satisfaction,’’ Rao says, reasoning that privatisation would only bring about better services to consumers.
Alternatively, if not privatised, the airport could continue to be used for domestic operations— a view that has many takers. With air travel now more accessible than ever before, citizens believe a distant airport would only work against those who take flights for neighbourhood destinations such as Tirupati and Vizag. “Visiting my family in Vizag on weekends and festivals is most of the time convenient by air and there have been occasions when I have planned my trips at the last minute. It won’t be so now with the airport moving to Shamshabad. It will not only add to the commute time but also to the cost of the commute until a link between the city and the airport comes up,’’ says software professional B Murthy.
However, his problem with Shamshabad airport is not restricted to flying in domestic sectors alone. He says that it would be worse for international flights as one has to check in three hours prior to the flight time. Besides, would a rail link, if at all it ever comes up, solve the problem of those who do not really believe in ‘travelling light’.
Hyderabadis are convinced that while they are getting a brand new airport with facilities they would have only heard of but perhaps never seen, it may all appear a tad dull when the all-essential “convenience factor’’ is compromised.
“Why shouldn’t we have two airports? Shanghai has three, London has four and Hyderabad with its growing population badly needs a second airport,’’ says Dr K Ravindra Nath, managing director, Global Hospitals, pointing out that the existing facility has a well laid out infrastructure and huge investments have been made from public money and that it cannot go waste. Besides, the proposals for the future use of the airport will hardly be able to tap its potential. “A training centre should not be in the heart of the city,’’ says Dr Nath, scoffing at the proposal of having an AAI training centre at the Begumpet airport.
Besides, citizens point out that the government has completely discounted the fact that flying is no longer a luxury and that many people across social classes use the facility. A growing category of people who now fly more than ever before are senior citizens, and many of them on the international sector to meet their children settled abroad. “Earlier there were fewer senior citizens flying but now there is a good traffic not only from Hyderabad but from other parts of the state as well,’’ notes A V Subba Rao, who heads the CSIR Pensioners’ Welfare Association, citing the much-believed social statistic of every alternate house in AP has a son or daughter living in the US.
Apart from political and citizen voices, budget airlines too have supported the continuance of the Begumpet airport saying that it should be allowed to continue for handling smaller aircrafts for not too distant destinations.
Deccan airlines (formerly Air Deccan), for instance, reportedly said that the Begumpet airport could be positioned as a regional hub and could be used to ease possible congestion at Shamshabad airport. Besides, travelling long distances to take short-distance flights is not a sensible idea, they say.
P L Menon, member of the United Resident Welfare Association that comprises 15 resident welfare societies spread across the city, says that the Begumpet airport apart from being neat and clean airport with decent facilities, is equidistant from most locations— be it Jubilee Hills or Tarnaka. “It is within five to six km distance from any area,’’ he says. Echoing the sentiments of a large number of citizens, he asks, “Why shut it down?’’
‘The Consumer is Forgotten’
Come March, Hyderabad and Bangalore will be faced with the same problem, and this time around it won’t be about incessant traffic snarls. Both IT hubs would have international world-class airports ready in the month of March but connectivity to both would be lacking. While the road to the Bangalore international airport is not likely to be ready until then, or even much later, the rail link from Hyderabad city to Shamshabad as of now appears a far fetched dream.
Making this observation, Kapil Kaul, CEO of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, says that since there is a contractual obligation (of the government with the developer), perhaps the only solution to the growing citizen concern would be to expedite the implementation of proposed public transport plans.
“It would take over three and half hours to reach the Bangalore international airport. The road (connecting the city to the airport) may take about three years to complete,’’ Kaul says, adding that the issue is relevant for Hyderabad as well with the rail link to take another few years before it’s in place. This delay in having a sound public transport (and a good road in the case of Bangalore) would create huge problems, Kaul speculates, adding that “the consumer in the game is forgotten’’.
A spokesperson of GMR, the company promoting the Shamshabad airport, said that issues of connectivity were being looked into in all earnest and that in the case of Hyderabad, the road would be ready by June. “It could even be earlier or a little late, but it won’t go beyond a couple of months. Compared to the scene in Bangalore, Hyderabad would be connected much sooner,’’ the spokesperson said.
Keeping the Begumpet airport functional at this point in time, Kaul believes, may not be a viable proposition since both the airports have largely a domestic led traffic and the international traffic is only building up currently.
“When you talk about airports opening, they add to the value of the city. They become world class cities with world class airports. But, you need to finalise a solution (of making these airports accessible), which the govt has to ensure while keeping its contractual obligations,’’ he says,
Airport Blues
Shamshabad is about 25 km from the city centre at Begumpet on the National Highway-7 that leads to Bangalore. Presently, it takes over 50 minutes to drive down from Punjagutta to the airport. From Secunderabad it will take another 20 minutes. This is the situation in moderate traffic conditions. If there are traffic jams, the time taken will commensurately increase.
Promoters of the airport are working to ensure that proper road connectivity to Shamshabad is provided. But the connecting roads will be ready at least a few months after the airport is open for business in March next year. For instance, only 5.5 kms of the 11 km long PV Narasimha Rao Expressway connecting Mehdipatnam with Shamshabad will be ready by February end and passengers rushing to catch a flight out of Shamshabad will have to brave the traffic before things smoothen out.
Airport authorities have envisaged a high speed train link between Begumpet (where the present airport is located and which is the present city centre) to Shamshabad. The train will have one stop: at Hi-Tec City and will traverse the entire journey in 23 minutes flat (inclusive of the stop). A feasibility study of the same has already been done by the Delhi Metro and it will take over five years for the rail link to be ready.
SOURCES:
Times Of India
Topics: Public Concerns, Construction, Infrastructure |
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