Tribune News Service
Ajay Banerjee
August 23, 2015
Fifty-three years after India was “wrong-footed” due to poor infrastructure during the 1962 Chinese aggression, the first of the planned airfields in Arunachal Pradesh is ready and four more will be opened by the year-end in the state.
The advanced landing ground (ALG) — euphuism for British-era mud-paved landing strip — at Walong in Arunachal is now fully upgraded, paved and network connected with the Indian Air Forces’ (IAF’s) existing data network. Planes such as Super Hercules C-130-J, Globemaster C-17 and AN-32 can land there, allowing rapid movement of troops, artillery guns, armoured vehicles and tanks.
An upgraded Walong airfield was slated to be formally inaugurated on August 20, but the low-key ceremony was put off due to adverse weather conditions. Sources told the Tribune that four similar airstrips in the hill state will be ready for use by the IAF before November this year. The one at Ziro is slated for completion in October, while Along, Mechuka and Passighat will be ready in November. “Work is on in full swing,” a senior functionary said.
The British had created small mud-paved landing grounds during the world war-II for their Burma and east India operations. The existing mud-paved ALGs are too small in length and allow only very small aircraft to land and have a non-existent ground support. These are rendered unusable during rains.
Other than the ones planned to be operational this year, Tuting will follow in January 2016, while Tawang (being upgraded for military helicopter operations) will be ready in September next year. These airfields dot various folds of the Himalayas in Arunachal and cover an east-west axis bring the IAF and Army’s rapid deployment capabilities much closer to the ‘Macmohan line’ — the India-China boundary in this part of the country.
