Pabna-4 MP Nuruzzaman Biswas wrote a letter to RM Ubaidul Moktadir Chowdhury, chairman of the Standing Committee on the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, demanding reopening of the closed Ishwardi Airport in Pabna. The letter mentioned the importance of Ishwardi and demanded immediate opening of the airport.
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahabub Ali Ishwardi is going to the Ishwardi Airport on Thursday to see the current state of the airport. MP Nuruzzaman Biswas hopes that the airport will be opened soon.
When contacted, Pabna-4 MP Nuruzzaman Biswas admitted that a letter has been sent to the parliamentary committee demanding reopening of the closed Ishwardi airport. The issue of Ishwardi airport has already been discussed in the parliamentary committee meeting.
The letter, sent to the Standing Committee on the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism on September 27, said the government had taken various plans to develop important infrastructure in the country. Ishwardi Airport is able to expedite all the development works of the government. This raised great hopes not only for the north but also for the south-west. However, regular landing at that potential airport has been closed for a long time.
According to the letter, the airport was closed in 1987 on the pretext of losses. It was renovated on July 17, 1994. The airport was again declared closed on November 3, 1996 on various pretexts. The airport reopened in November 2013 after a long hiatus of nearly 17 years. But after four months, in March 2014, the flight was stopped again.
The letter further said that Ishwardi is a town in a geographically convenient location and rich in agriculture, industry and trade. There is a great combination of improved roads, waterways and railways. The number of passengers will increase many times if regular flights are started at this first airport in the north and south of Bangladesh.
The business community believes that if the airport is opened, domestic and foreign industrialists will invest more in the EPZ here. About one-tenth of the country's demand for vegetables is produced in Ishwardi. If Ishwardi Airport is opened for the supply of agricultural products, the people of the country will get fresh vegetables on time. Not only this, the government will be able to earn huge amount of revenue from this.
