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IAF's landing ground near China border revived in Arunachal

November 18, 2011 20:10 IST

An Indian Air Force advanced landing ground at Vijaynagar, country's easternmost tip in Arunachal Pradesh, was re-opened on Friday by Governor General (Retd) J J Singh in presence of Air Marshal S Varthaman, air officer commanding-in-chief, eastern air command, Lieutenant General Rameshwar Roy, director general Assam Rifles, Air Vice Marshal KS Gill among other senior officials from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam Rifles and the IAF.

A defence source informed that the inaugural flight of AN-32 landed at Vijaynagar ALG thereby bringing the local populace of this frontier on the air connectivity map of the country after a gap of over two years.

The ALG was built during 1962 Chinese aggression, but closed down later in 2009 due to decaying runway condition.

The ALG at Vijaynagar is closest to China's Yunan province. Vijaynagar in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh is surrounded by Myanmar territory on three sides.

The Indian Air Force commenced its operations with Dakota and Otter in 1962 and subsequently the AN-32a operated since 1984.

The original runway in the ALG was made of pierced steel plate sheets. It has now been renovated and made concrete by the IAF with the help of the public works department of Arunachal Pradesh.

ALG are constructed in those terrains where construction of longer airstrip is not possible. For now, the runway at Vijaynagar ALG is open for operation of AN-32 aircrafts.

The ALG is located at an elevation of 4,200 ft from the mean sea level.

K Anurag