SRINAGAR: Kargil local authorities have urged the Centre to start civilian flights, saying connectivity remains severely affected in winter when surface routes close.Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council -Kargil (LAHDC) chief executive councillor (CEC) Mohd Jaffar Akhoon and Ladakh MP Mohmad Haneefa raised the demand in a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Thursday.“Air links will boost tourism and help army personnel immensely. Soldiers lose three to four days of leave while travelling via Leh and waiting for onward movement,” Akhoon said, adding lack of direct flights has been holding back countless potential visitors.Akhoon stressed that air links are vital for the region, whose people now have to travel five to eight hours by road to reach the nearest airports in Leh and Srinagar.“No doubt Zojila Tunnel will improve road connectivity, but Kargil still needs a dedicated air link. Small aircraft operate in many areas of the Northeast. Flights from Kargil to New Delhi and Kargil to Srinagar can begin from the existing (defence) runway with small aircraft. This can pave the way for full air connectivity and to a full-fledged civil airport,” Akhoon said.In the talks with Shah, Akhoon and Haneefa also pushed for speeding up five hydroelectric projects and sought two new districts of Sankoo and Shakar-Chiktan. “These are among the most populated and oldest subdivisions in Kargil and meet all required criteria for creation of districts,” Akhoon said.The two should be included in an upcoming notification about five new districts announced in Aug 2024 by the Union home ministry. These are Ladakh, Zanskar and Drass in Kargil, and Sham, Nubra and Changthang in Leh.Akhoon and Haneefa also sought a 200-bed hospital for Kargil to ease the pressure on an existing 100-bed district facility, engineering colleges and an agricultural university. Another key demand was for a dedicated India Reserve Battalion (IRB) for Kargil to strengthen law and order and provide jobs.Akhoon said home minister Shah’s response to the demands, including air connectivity, was “very positive”.
