Manma, February 10: It has already been three years since the Kotwada airport at Narharinath rural municipality-1 in the Kalikot district saw the test flight. However, its runway is yet to record a single airplane landing and taking off for the commercial purposes. The test flight was conducted on February 11, 2017, in the presence of the then Minister for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Jivan Bahadur Shahi.
After such flight, no tasks related to the upgrade of runway, air traffic control tower and other necessary infrastructures have been carried out. As such, the airport continues to be rendered inoperative.
This, no wonder, has irked the residents of the Narharinath rural municipality, which is still not linked with roadways. “We are compelled to walk for one whole day to reach the nearest road network. So, the air service can be regarded as the most viable way to ease this problem. But, unfortunately, the concerned authorities have been brazenly lackluster towards staring such operations by doing the needful,” bemoans Ganesh Bahadur Bista, a local resident.
A local leader of the rural municipality Birendra Bahadur Buda angrily says that every political leader makes a promise to operate the airport during the election campaign, but they renegade it later.
Narharinath rural municipality chair Dhir Bahadur Bista views that the continued failure of operating the airport is also hampering the growth of local tourism in the district. Ramaroshan and Tribeni Patan Badimalika are among the major tourist areas here.
The airport was built in 2042 BS during the panchayat (single-party) reign.
