Sabarimala Greenfield Airport

Last updated

Sabari International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Serves Kottayam,Changanacherry, Thiruvalla, Sabarimala, Pathanamthitta
Location Manimala & Erumely, Kottayam District
Elevation  AMSL 4 m / 13 ft
Coordinates 9°27′51″N76°48′20″E / 9.464083°N 76.805579°E / 9.464083; 76.805579
Website sabariairport.in
Map
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Sabarimala International Airport
Location of airport in Kerala
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Sabarimala International Airport
Sabarimala International Airport (India)
Sabarimala Greenfield Airport
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
mft
08/26 [1] 3,50011,482
Sabarimala Greenfield Airport
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2km
1.2miles
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Sabari International Airport (Proposed)

Sabari International Airport [2] , also known as Sabarimala Airport [3] ( IATA : none, ICAO : none), [4] [1] is a proposed greenfield international airport that will primarily cater to Sabarimala & Central Travancore Region. The proposed airport will also serve various tourism destinations such as Kumarakom, Thekkady, and cities such as Thiruvalla , Pathanamthitta & Kottayam. The airport will be built in between the towns of Erumeli South and Manimala. Thiruvalla Railway Station is the nearest railway Station to Airport -29 km. The proposed site is 50 km [5] away from Pamba, which is the base camp of Sabarimala temple. The site is located at about 44 km from the city of Kottayam [6] . The site is spread over 2,570 acres (10.4 km2) of area. [7] It is 136 km from the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram, and 113 km from Kochi. Upon commissioning, this will be the fifth international airport in Kerala, giving the state the distinction of having the most international airports in India. [1]

Contents

History

The Sabarimala temple, situated on the Western Ghats in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district and is one of India's holiest shrines, which attracts nearly around 50 million visitors each season. [8] As of December 2019, an average of 75,000 pilgrims visit Sabarimala on a daily basis ever since the beginning of the annual pilgrim season in mid-November. [9] Presently, the only way to reach the hill shrine is by road. The increase in the number of pilgrims visiting the temple had prompted the government to look at an airport as an option to reduce traffic congestion during the pilgrimage season. [7] In view of this, in February 2017, the Government of Kerala gave in-principle approval to construct the airport, and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) was asked to conduct a feasibility study. [10]

KSIDC had issued global tenders for the feasibility study of the project. The tender was won by the American consultancy firm, Louis Berger Group. Louis Berger submitted a techno-economic feasibility study and environmental impact assessment of the proposed greenfield airport in December 2018. [11] However, the consultancy did not conduct the environment impact assessment (EIA) as the state had not taken a final decision on the project including that of land acquisition. [12] In 2019, the state government constituted a search committee to select a special officer for the project, who would be given the task of coordinating with the consultancy in acquiring environment impact clearances and for the union civil aviation ministry’s approval for the project. [12] In December 2019, the state government appointed V. Thulasidas, the managing director of Kannur International Airport Ltd. (KIAL) as the special officer for the project. [13] In April 2023, after a long delayed and complicated process as mentioned above, the project got approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and preparation of the project's Detailed Project Report (DPR) is expected to begin within a month. [1]

Ownership

The site for the proposed airport is nearby the Cheruvally Estate, which was formerly the site of a rubber plantation. [14] Initially, the estate belonged to Harrison Plantations and later by the RPG Goenka group. Gospel for Asia, a Christian missionary organization under Believers Eastern Church, Thiruvalla took it over from the Goenka group. The ownership of the property was disputed in 2017 before the High Court of Kerala claiming that the Estate was government land. [15] A 2018 High Court order affirmed the church's ownership of the estate. [16]

Project timeline

See also

Related Research Articles

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Pathanamthitta District, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. The district headquarters is in the town of Pathanamthitta. There are four municipalities in Pathanamthitta: Adoor, Pandalam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvalla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabarimala Temple</span> Hindu temple in Kerala, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kanjirappally</span> Town in Kerala, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ponkunnam</span> Town in Kerala, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pathanamthitta</span> City in Kerala, India

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Erumely, also spelt Erumeli, is a town and panchayat located in the south-eastern part of Kottayam district in Kerala state, India. Erumely is situated 49 km (30 mi) east of Kottayam town and 133 km (83 mi) north of capital city Thiruvananthapuram. The village is on the Manimala River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheruvally</span> Village in Kerala, India

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Perunad (Ranni-Perunad) is a scenic hilly village in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala state, India. Thiruvalla is the nearest railway station located at a distance of 58 km (36 mi). It's located on the banks of Pamba River and Kakkad River.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pettathullal</span> Ritualistic dance

Pettathullal, also known as Pettat kettu, is a historic ritualistic dance held annually on the 27th of Dhanu at Erumely, in the district of Kottayam, in the Indian state of Kerala. It is performed during the Mandalam - Makaravilakku period among thousands of devotees. It depicts the joyfulness of people over the slaying of Mahishi by Lord Ayyappa. Two groups actively participate in the thullal, one from Ambalappuzha and other from Aalangadu. The Ambalappuzha group starts their journey to Erumely on the 22nd of Dhanu and a couple of days before the thullal. They visit the Manimala Bhagavathy temple on 25th Dhanu and perform an Aazhi pooja. Before the Ambalappuzha thullal, a Krishna parunth flies around in the sky. It is believed that lord Vishnu himself arrives from Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna temple on his mount Garuda to witness the ''thullal.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sabarimala greenfield airport receives clearance from Civil Aviation Ministry –Kerala's Kottayam to get big connectivity boost". Times Now. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  2. ↑ Desk, Editor (18 April 2023). "PM lauds site clearance for Greenfield Airport project at Kottayam (Sabarimala)". IBG News. Retrieved 17 January 2025.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. ↑ "Sabarimala greenfield airport: Kerala govt orders acquisition of land". The News Minute. 18 June 2020.
  4. ↑ DOCUMENTATION KERALA (PDF). Secretariat of The Kerala Legislature. p. 61. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2022.
  5. ↑ "Pampa to Cheruvally estate".
  6. ↑ "Kottayam to Cheruvally estate".
  7. 1 2 "Kerala's next airport to come up in Kanjirappally | Kerala new airport | Kerala next airport | Sabarimala airport". English.manoramaonline.com. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  8. ↑ "Kerala to set up airport in Kanjirapally to cater to Sabarimala hill shrine". The Financial Express . 20 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "It's slow progress for Sabarimala pilgrims". The Hindu . 25 December 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  10. 1 2 "Sabarimala airport to come up on Cheruvally estate". The Hindu . 19 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Erumely airport report gathers dust". Deccan Chronicle . 2 October 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  12. 1 2 3 "Sabarimala airport project: Special officer to be selected in a month". The New Indian Express . 2 August 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  13. 1 2 "Thiruvananthapuram: Kial MD special officer for Sabarimala airport project". The Times of India . 11 December 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  14. ↑ "Sabarimala airport: the century-old Cheruvally Estate was a British aerial discovery | Sabarimala airport | Cheruvally Estate | British aerial discovery | Erumely airport | Sabarimala pilgrims | Kerala". English.manoramaonline.com. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  15. ↑ "Cheruvally estate is government land, says CM Pinarayi Vijayan". Deccan Chronicle .
  16. ↑ "Harrisons case setback may cost Kerala government dear in Erumeli airport project". The New Indian Express . 13 April 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  17. ↑ "Sabarimala Greenfield Airport has got site, defence clearance from Centre: Kerala govt". English.Mathrubhumi. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/sabarimala-airport-digital-mapping-of-project-area-begins/article67580057.ece https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/kial-md-spl-officer-for-sabari-airport-project/articleshow/72464046.cms

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