Farmers Movement Archive

Enthusiastic crowd welcomes PM Modi at Noida airport event

Around 200,000 people gathered in Jewar on Thursday to watch Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi lay the foundation stone of the ambitious Noida international airport project. Though the event was scheduled to start at noon, people started trickling into the venue from 8am. All roads leading to the venue in Ranhera village, Jewar, were crowded with people in tractors, buses, cars, all driving to the same destination. Huge billboards welcoming PM Modi to Jewar and congratulating locals on the “bhoomi pujan (ground-breaking ceremony)” of the airport were erected along Yamuna Expressway and other major roads in Jewar. Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh also took out a massive tractor rally at 10am from the Faleda exit on Yamuna Expressway, 10 kilometres away from the venue. “Exactly a year ago, farmers of the country set out to New Delhi to put their demands in front of PM Modi regarding the farm laws. However today, farmers at our rally are celebrating PM Modi’s arrival here and have set out to welcome him. Almost 100,000 people participated in our rally and arrived at the venue,” said Singh.Coming close on the heels of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections scheduled early next year, local BJP workers said that the event holds significance for the state government.“PM Modi’s presence here today means that our vote matters to him. February’s elections are dominating discussions among villagers and with this event being held here, it will play an important role to decide the vote of the people,” Jagdish Singh, a local BJP worker from Faleda village, said.The Noida airport is the 10th airport to be built in the state in the last seven years, will have a capacity of 12 million passengers per annum (in the first phase), and will commence construction of its second phase by 2031-32. The cost of the first phase of development is ₹4,588 crore and the total cost of the project is pegged at ₹29,560 crore, senior officials said. A total of 1,324 hectares have been acquired for the project in the first phase, and two runways will come up in the first phase. According to civil aviation ministry officials, flight operations are expected to commence from the greenfield airport by 2024. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is closely monitoring the airport’s development,” said Rajiv Bansal, secretary, Union ministry of civil aviation. Depending on passenger demand, the airport is expected to be built in four phases, said people aware of the matter. After the second phase (which is expected to cost an estimated ₹5,983 crore), the capacity of the airport is expected to go up to 30 million passengers per annum, officials aware of the matter said.In the third phase (expected to be developed at a cost of ₹8,415 crore), work on which is expected to begin by 2036-2037, the estimated target capacity is 50 million passengers; and after the fourth (expected to be developed at a cost of ₹10,575 crore) and final phase (by 2040), the aviation hub will be able to handle 70 million passengers per annum, the officials said.There will be a maintenance, repair and operation (MRO) facility here built on 40 acres of land at a cost of ₹30,000 crore, by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited, the special purpose vehicle formed to develop and operate this airport. On Thursday afternoon in Ranhera, large life-size cutouts and banners of PM Modi were dotted across the dusty, grassless ground. Masses waiting for PM Modi to arrive would clap to beats, often break into dance and sing along to the tunes. The most repeated lyric in these songs was about “vikas (development)”.Local leaders took to the stage around noon and spoke until the PM’s arrival.When the sound of a helicopter was heard, the crowd yelled “Modi has come!” and climbed atop barricades to catch a glimpse of the PM. However, they were disappointed as the security arrangements didn’t allow the crowd to get close to him.As Modi began his descent from the helicopter, chants of “Modi-Yogi”, “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Matram” went up.Starting his address at 2.40pm, Modi listed the UP government’s achievements and detailed the benefits that the Noida airport would bring to the locals in Jewar. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also spoke.Within minutes of PM Modi and his entourage of ministers leaving the stage, the crowd dispersed from the venue. Many took the opportunity to carry back home the large cutouts of PM Modi’s waving figurine. When asked what they plan to do with the cut out, Siraj Zaidi, a resident of Kishorepur village in Jewar,said, “PM Modi is the most popular star of the country. I will place this cutout at my tea shop in the village to attract more customers and to give my shop a uniqueness.”

Hindustan Times

26-11-2021

Noida