Congress MLA suggests giving Shivamogga Airport land back to farmers before changing stance

Congress MLA Belur Gopal Krishna suggested returning the land acquired for the Shivamogga Airport to its original owners. Speaking at a press conference in Shivamogga on Thursday, he noted that flight operations are set to stop from November 21.

Statements And Accusations

The MLA stated that the airport, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is in a bad state. He asked why the UDAN scheme cannot be extended and claimed the main goal is to hand over all airports to private companies. He also alleged that BJP leaders bought land near the airport to increase property values rather than to help the public.

Reversal And Bank Reaction

After facing questions from journalists, Mr. Gopal Krishna changed his stand. He said that since the Prime Minister inaugurated the facility, both the State and Central governments should work to keep the airport and restart services. Meanwhile, R.M. Manjunath Gowda, president of the Shivamogga District Central Cooperative Bank, blamed policy changes in handling operations for hitting flights hard, noting this is why IndiGo stopped its Bengaluru-Shivamogga service.

Context

Regional airports in India often rely heavily on government subsidy schemes like UDAN to maintain commercial flight connections. Changes in operational policies or low passenger demand can frequently lead airlines to suspend routes between smaller cities and major hubs.