Thaindian News

Kolkata, Dec 2 (IANS) The Indian Navy is awaiting a final nod from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to use an airfield in Kolkata to operate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance of the maritime border with Bangladesh, a naval officer said Friday.

The naval officer said the AAI had earlier given an in-principle approval for using the 15 acres of land at the 210-acre airfield at Behala, located to the southwest of the city.

“The AAI has given in-principle approval to the navy for using 15 acres of land of the Behala airfield. We are waiting for the final approval. Unless the land is leased out to us, we cannot set up infrastructure there,” Commodore Brian A. Thomas, naval officer-in-charge, West Bengal, told reporters here.

“The MOD (ministry of defence) has now approached the civil aviation ministry. And the AAI has to give the final approval on paper…this is a matter of paper work now,” he said.

Stating that the international maritime border with Bangladesh was a very sensitive area, Cdre. Thomas said the navy wanted to have a round-the-clock surveillance there and Behala airport was ideally suited for operating the UAVs for the purpose.

“We have got a plan in place and the moment the approval will come we will set up the infrastructure there very, very fast,” Thomas said.

“We have a lot of inputs of illegal activities going on…boats crossing (the maritime border). This is something we want to stop and the best way is to use the unmanned aerial vehicles,” Thomas said.

“The UAVs are able to fly for very, very long periods without pilots. So, we can keep them there all the time,” he added.

The Behala airport, where once a premier flight training facility was situated, has been lying unused and abandoned for the past couple of decades.