Page 24 - NIS English 01-15 November 2022

Cover Story Multi-modal Connectivity

highways are being made into emergency
landing roads -cum- runways. That is, in the
event of an emergency on these highways,
the aeroplane can be landed easily. When
the plane lands, the traffic would be
stopped for a while, like a railway gate, and
the traffic would be restored after the plane
has landed. It has five highways – Gagaria-
Bakhsar in Rajasthan; Nellore-Ongul, Ongul-
Chilakaluripet in Andhra Pradesh; Banihal-
Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir; and
Kharagpur-Balasore in West Bengal, for
which Indian Air Force approval has been
received, while approval from the Indian Air
Force for 23 others is awaited.
This proposal is for such highways
where there is no airport nearby. That is,
preparations for infrastructure are also AFFORDABLE-
being made strategically. In Jammu and
Kashmir, 1,000 people are currently working
in minus 1-degree Celsius conditions to ACCESSIBLE
complete the Zojila Tunnel. The deadline
for its completion was 2026, which has
been reduced to 2024. AIR TRAVEL

GATISHAKTI PLAN BOOSTING
INFRASTRUCTURE
Today, the country is operating under the More than A total of 144 airports
vision of PM GatiShakti National Master 1 crore passengers are associated with
Plan, which has accelerated the decision- traveled under the the Udan scheme
making process for creating modern multi- Udan scheme whereas in 2014 there
modal connectivity. The pace of progress were only 74.
in 21st-century India will be determined by
connectivity. As a result, connectivity must The 'UDAN' scheme has fulfilled the common
be modernised at every level, as this will man's dream of air travel. It allows air travel
serve as its foundation. The development of of up to 500 km or 1 hour for just Rs 2500,
modern infrastructure and the effective use while at the same time small and medium
of modern technology, as well as positive cities have been connected by air routes.
changes in life, increase the ease of doing Operations were started from 68 airports
business. The budget for this year has also including Water Aerodrome and Heliport.
set the pace for India's development in the 439 new routes were started and now the
twenty-first century. The infrastructure- government has set a target to increase it to
based development strategy is proving to 1000 routes and 220 airports operational by
2026.
be a phenomenal increase in the economy's The government has also given first-
potential and has also created many new phase approval i.e. site clearance for the
job opportunities. construction of greenfield airports at Alwar
in Rajasthan, Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh,
and Mandi in Himachal.

22 New India Samachar November 1-15, 2022