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Haryana SMEs optimistic about airports in Hisar and Karnal

Updated: Aug 02, 2013 03:03:44pm
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Gurgaon, Aug 2 (KNN)  Entrepreneurs are excited about the two new civil airports soon to come at Karnal and Hisar which have already received in-principle approval from the Centre.

The approval came after Haryana Chief Secretary P K Chaudhery met top officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry on Wednesday to discuss the proposal. 

Haryana had applied for setting up of five civil airports at Hisar, Bhiwani, Narnaul, Karnal and Pinjore, out of which approval has been obtained for Hisar and Karnal. 

“There is no direct connectivity of Karnal with Southern and Western part of the country which is a major setback for the SMEs here. Karnal is centrally located between Delhi and Chandigarh and it does not even have a railway junction” said President of Karnal Agriculture Implements Manufacturer Association, Ranbir Arora.

The airport will have a geographical advantage because of its connectivity with the neighbouring states of Punjab and Delhi.

“If you look at the entire geography of the region, Panipat is famous for its traditional handloom industry; similarly Kurukshetra-a famous historic place, Yamunanagar and Ambala which are within 100 kilometres from Karnal do not have connectivity with other parts of the country. These important places have thousands of SMEs with good potential to grow and they need to be given good connectivity with the other parts of the country,” Arora added.

Even small entrepreneurs from Hisar and nearby areas who currently have to go to Delhi to go to other places are optimistic about the proposal.

“The domestic airport will benefit residents as well as industrialists here.  Having to come to Delhi every time I travel is very time consuming and not cost effective. It is an additional cost for us.  An airport will certainly help in the overall growth of the area,” said President Rohtak I D C Industries Association Rajinder Bansal from Hisar Road.

Meanwhile, “This area has been neglected since long, so this move will definitely benefit the SMEs and residents,” said President of Print and Packaging Manufacturers Association, C G Dhingra from Hisar.

As far as the Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda is concerned, he said these airports would give connectivity a leg-up to both industry and tourism. Hooda also said that the talks were in progress with the Centre for setting up of an international cargo airport in the state also. 

“If the international cargo airport opens in the state, it will save the cost of transportation for us. Presently, as we have to take the consignments to Delhi, it adds to our cost,” said Bansal.
 
With the international cargo airport being set up here, SMEs can cut their cost immensely. We send our consignments to Delhi presently, and they can only be sent at night. There are restrictions to send cargo during day time to Delhi as trucks are not allowed to move during day hours. That is a setback for us, said Arora.

Some of the major projects initiated in Haryana during the last few months are National Defence University, the first university of its kind in the country and third in the world after USA and China, National Institute of Design (NID), the Centre of Excellence for Fruits in Sirsa, Hansi-Meham-Rohtak rail line and four lanning of Hisar-Hansi-Meham-Rohtak section of National Highway No 10 and Rohtak Railway Byepass train line. (KNN/SD)

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