Himachal demands night landing facilities at airports

Dharamsala, Dec 22 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal Thursday asked the central government to provide technically advanced night landing and take-off facilities at airports in the state.

'We have been requesting the central government and will again request them to provide night landing facilities at Shimla, Kangra and Bhuntar (near Kullu) airports,' Dhumal said in the state assembly here.

He said in 2008, then civil aviation minister Praful Patel had also announced at the Bhuntar airport that his ministry was planning to provide night-landing facilities at all the three airports.

He said the length of runway of the Kangra airport had been increased from 3,900 feet to 4,500 feet so that ATR-42 planes could land and fly from there.

The chief minister said there was no facility of refuelling planes at Kangra and the oil companies were being approached for this purpose.

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