Raipur. The much awaited demand of the people of Surguja area is now going to be fulfilled. Surguja, a tribal dominated area, is going to be connected to the air service. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will give this gift to the people of Surguja by virtually inaugurating Maa Mahamaya Airport Ambikapur on Sunday, October 20. By joining the air service, lakhs of people of all the districts of Surguja division, Surguja, Jashpur, Surajpur, Balrampur, Korea, Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district will get direct benefit. By connecting with the airline, tourism and commercial activities will get a boost in Surguja division and with the expansion of transportation facilities, employment opportunities will increase for the area residents.

Let us tell you that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate Maa Mahamaya Airport Ambikapur on October 20 at 4 pm from Varanasi. Chhattisgarh Governor Ramen Deka, Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai, Union Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu, Deputy Chief Ministers Arun Sao, Vijay Sharma, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development Tokhan Sahu, Union Civil Aviation and Co-operation were present as special guests in this ceremony. Minister of State Muralidhar Mohol, Agriculture Minister Ramvichar Netam, Finance and in-charge Minister OP Chaudhary, Health Minister Shyambihari Jaiswal, Women and Child Development Minister Lakshmi Rajwade, Surguja MP Chintamani Maharaj, Ambikapur MLA Rajesh Aggarwal, Lundra MLA Prabodh Minj, Sitapur MLA Ramkumar Toppo, Chairman State Youth Commission Vishwa Vijay Singh Tomar will be present.

The program of inauguration ceremony of Mahamaya Airport Ambikapur will start from 3 pm in the presence of very special guests. Governor Ramen Deka and Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai will tour and inspect the airport from 3 pm to 3.15 pm. Thereafter, there will be welcome and meeting by the local public representatives, lighting of the lamp and address by the guests. Live telecast will start from Varanasi at 4.00 pm, Maa Mahamaya Airport will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 4.05 pm and Prime Minister’s address will be held from 4.05 to 4.20 pm.

This is how Maa Mahamaya Airport Darima got included in the air map of the country-

Let us tell you that work has been done at Maa Mahamaya Airport, Ambikapur at a cost of about Rs 80 crore. Darima airstrip was constructed in the year 1950, it was initially known as W.B.M. It was constructed from the surface, whose length was 1200 meters. This airstrip is 13 km from Ambikapur city. It is built in Darima village at a distance of . Its total area is 365 acres and this airstrip is situated at an altitude of 1924 feet above sea level.

Administrative approval of Rs 46.27 crore was issued to the Public Works Department for the development of the airport, under which the upgradation work was started by the Public Works Department from December 2021 as per 3 CVFR. The Public Works Department completed the work in April 2023 and applied for the license, under which the inspection was done by DGCA in May 2023. After inspection and completing all the formalities, the aerodrome license was issued by DGCA on 15 March 2024. The length of the runway is 1500 meters. Increase from to 1800 m. to be done.

The airport will be equipped with these technologies

Runway length was increased from 1500 meters to 1800 meters. To strengthen the runway, PCN was increased to 25 which was in line with ATR 72. The new apron will be 110 m × 127 m. Which is suitable for parking 2 ATR 72 aircraft simultaneously. Along with this, isolation way, RESA on both sides and two taxi-ways of 25×150 meters have been constructed. Along with this, asphalting work of perimeter road and other approach roads was done. The total area is approximately 8 km. The height of the boundary wall was increased from 1.5 meters to 3.2 meters. Asphalting of all internal roads and work of road furnishing and marking was done. The terminal building was upgraded to accommodate an increase from 20 passengers to 72 passengers. ATC office, MET office, ACCR room, fire store, electrical panel room and other infrastructure works have been done.

Major tourist and religious places of Surguja region-

There are immense possibilities of tourism in Surguja region. The commencement of air service will undoubtedly promote tourism in this area and create new employment opportunities. Famous tourist places of Surguja region include Rajarani Temple, Baba Bamleshwar Temple, Surguja Palace, Kailash Caves, Chirmiri full of natural beauty, historical and famous temple Ratanpur, Jogimara, Sitabengra and Laxman Caves in Ramgarh and Shimla Mainpat of Chhattisgarh. Major religious places of Surguja area include many Jain temples, Baba Bhim Temple, Ram Temple, Mahamaya Temple and the Buddhist temple located at Mainpat.

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