Agra closer to getting civil terminal; Katheria lays foundation stone
National Commission for Scheduled Castes chairman Ram Shankar Katheria laid the foundation stone for the construction of the external wing of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Civil Enclave for developing airport facility at Agra.
National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) chairman Ram Shankar Katheria on Monday laid the foundation stone for the construction of the external wing of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Civil Enclave for developing airport facility at Agra.
The project costing ₹348.48 lakh would include construction of administrative block for civil terminal at Agra.
Representatives from various trade bodies, exporters and tourism industry were present on the occasion. Katheria termed it as compliance of long awaited demand and reminded about the promise made by the Prime Minister to enhance the connectivity of cities for growth and development.
“The international standard airport would facilitate tourists and industrialists to come directly to Agra. It would enhance the economy of this tourist city. A fund of ₹65 crore has already been released by state government for the acquisition of land for the extended civil terminal in Agra,” stated Katheria.
“Director of airport authority Kusum Dass has assured that construction work for Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Civil Enclave would be completed within one and a half years,” stated Katheria.
He assured that the task of constructing boundary wall for the extended civil terminal would be completed by the Public Works Department within three months after the foundation stone laying on Monday.
“We are committed to fulfill the promises made and have made the passport office available to Agra. The city would also have an international sports stadium soon,” added Katheria while thanking farmers for providing land for the civil terminal to be developed on par with international standards.
Rajiv Tiwari, president of Paryatan Mitra, welcomed the initiative and stated that the civil terminal at Agra upgraded to international standard would help tourism in city of Taj.
However, farmers from nearby villages under the aegis of Kalyanpur Action Committee, opposed the foundation stone laying function and complained that the boundary wall of the civil terminal would block the road to Kalyanpur village and farmers would be forced to travel 5 km extra to reach their village.