By IANS,
Ludhiana (Punjab) : Member of Parliament from Ludhiana Manish Tewari Wednesday urged Defence Minister A.K. Antony to open a civil terminal at the defence-controlled Halwara airport near this Punjab industrial city.
The Halwara airport is under the control of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
In a letter to the defence minister, Tewari, who is the national spokesman of the Congress, sought the defence ministry’s clearance to construct a civil terminal of the Airports Authority of India at the airport. He sought the urgent intervention of the defence minister in this regard.
The MP also sought shifting of the Baddowal ammunition depot from Ludhiana saying that it was posing a danger and harassment to residents of nearby areas.
Tewari also brought to the notice of the minister the problems faced by the residents around the S.K. firing range that is located in the rural part of the Ludhiana parliamentary constituency.
He said the firing range is surrounded by villages and farm land which has very dense population.
“The Indian Air Force routinely carries out its bombing runs (training exercises) whereby live or dud ammunition is dropped on targets which are located within the range. The impact of these bombs is to such an extent that homes in the vicinity shake, window panes are broken and most of the houses have developed cracks in their foundations,” Tewari pointed out.
He said that, at times, bombs and rockets fired from these aircrafts land in the nearby villages or fields triggering mass panic among the villagers.
Tewari sought the immediate shifting of the firing range.