PM to inaugurate highway airstrip in Assam on Feb 14

PRime government minister Narendra Modi testament kick off a new constructed exigency Landing Facility (ELF) on the Dibrugarh-Moran stretch of National Highway-127 in Assam on February 14, marking the first highway-based airstrip in the Northeast, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday.Addressing a press conference, Sarma said the PM’s aircraft will land on the National Highway and later take off from the four-lane highway airstrip at Moran instead of using the runway at the Chabua Air Force station.“This will be a historic moment for us,” the CM said, adding that the 4.2-kilometre reinforced concrete stretch has been designed to function as an emergency runway for both military and civilian aircraft.The Dibrugarh district administration has imposed restrictions on public and vehicular movement in the area as part of security arrangements, said district commissioner Bikram Kairi.An aerial display by the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been planned to coincide with the inauguration, with several fighter aircraft, including Sukhoi and Rafale jets, are expected to participate in the airshow, with some landing on the facility, Sarma said, adding the demonstration is likely to last 30-40 minutes.Moran ELF holds strategic importance due to its location in Upper Assam, around 300 kilometres from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and around 150km from the Myanmar border, Pangsau Pass.On Wednesday, an IAF transport aircraft successfully carried out a landing on the Moran highway stretch, marking a significant step in operational readiness, said officials of the Chabua Airforce Station.CM Sarma said that after the event in Moran, the PM will fly to Guwahati for his next leg of the day-long trip to the poll-bound state, the CM said. In Guwahati, PM Modi will inaugurate a new bridge over the Brahmaputra River and also spend some time walking on it, which the CM described as an ‘architectural marvel’ executed by the state engineers.From the Lachit Ghat nearby, the PM will inaugurate the temporary campus of the Indian Institute of Management, Guwahati, and an AI-enabled hyperscale data centre, he said. “100 EV buses for Guwahati will also be flagged off by the PM,” Sarma added.Later in the day, the PM is scheduled to address BJP’s booth-level workers at Khanapara, before returning to New Delhi the same evening, Sarma said.Assam is slated go to assembly polls in April-May this year.