Prime Minister Narendra Modi created history on Friday when he landed at the first strategically located Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) aboard C 130J aircraft in Assam’s Moran, thereby becoming the first prime minister to inaugurate a project in such a manner in the north-east region. The landing zone is the first in the northeast.
Beginning his one-day tour of the State, which is scheduled to go to polls soon, the PM took off from the Chabua airfield after his arrival, and landed at the ELF in Moran on a stretch of National Highway-37. The specially built airstrip, constructed along a national highway stretch, is designed to enable fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force to take off and land during emergencies.
The China factor is one of the key reasons behind the significance of the ELF on the Dibrugarh-Moran stretch of a national highway in Assam. There are many IAF bases against Chinese ones all along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). A second Rafale squadron is based in Hashimara, north of Bengal and south of Bhutan. To the southeast of this area is where India is particularly vulnerable.
“It is a matter of immense pride that the Northeast gets an Emergency Landing Facility… From a strategic point of view and during times of natural disasters, this facility is of great importance,” the PM posted on social media. The facility is designed for both civil and military use, serving as an alternative to the Dibrugarh airport in case of emergency.
The PM was received at the ELF by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and other ministers of the Assam cabinet. After landing on the runway, Modi drove to the venue nearby from where he witnessed an aerial display of IAF fighter and transport aircraft along with helicopters.
