Baglung. No flights have been able to arrive at Balewa Airport since 2075 BS. Sabita Sharma Poudel, a local of Balewa, has been taking care of the airport which was deserted due to lack of aircraft.

Sabita, who has been taking care of the airport for the past 12 years, has the responsibility of protecting the physical property and cleaning it. She works as a lone employee at the deserted airport. Although the Balewa Airport of Baglung used to land and take off regularly till 2048 BS, it has not come into regular operation since then.

After the expansion of the Baglung-Pokhara highway, the airport was closed due to lack of passengers. However, it is not that the locals have taken initiative to operate the airport which was constructed in 2022 BS by digging the land. The airport located at Narayansthan of Baglung municipality-14 is now deserted. Chartered flights were operated from time to time at the closed airport. Baglung Municipality had resumed its operation from Chaitra 20, 2074 BS with the initiation of its efforts to bring the airport into operation after a gap of around 26 years.

The planes of Nepal Airlines and Tara Airlines had also operated flights on the muddy runway in winter and rainy season for a few months. After that, the airport was closed and the runway was blacktopped. However, four years have passed since the blacktopping of the runway, but not a single ship has been able to reach the runway.

The runway has come to a standstill after the municipality made an agreement to operate flights twice a week and bear the fare in case of lack of passengers.

Chakra Bahadur Khatri, spokesperson of Baglung Municipality and ward chairman of Baglung Municipality-14, said that the airport has not been operated for test flights so far. He said that the locals of Balewa are hopeful that more aircraft will arrive and that despite repeated efforts to operate the aircraft, it has not been materialized.

“Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey was also given an inspection of the airport where the aircraft flying dusty did not come when the blacktopping took place, the equipment at the airport is efficient and safe,” Khatri said, adding that the Kaligandaki Corridor, a project of national pride, is in the phase of blacktopping and the airport can be operated if there is an environment conducive for the passengers to come to the airport smoothly । ”

Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Pandey said that although it was said that initiatives would be taken to operate the airport, the private sector airlines refused to operate flights until the passengers got guaranteed.

Janak Raj Poudel, former mayor of Baglung municipality, said that it was unfortunate that the test flight could not take place even after four years of the completion of runway blacktopping, repair of fence, tower and parking of aircraft.

“It is necessary for the people’s representatives to take a moment to operate the airport which was blacktopped during our time. At that time, he had operated the airport with a deposit of Rs 10 lakh from the municipality. The people’s representatives have not taken initiative to operate the airport after the runway was blacktopped,” he said.

Mayor Basanta Kumar Shrestha accepted that the airport which lies in the middle of Kaligandaki corridor connecting north and south has tourism potentials as well but has not been able to operate it. Stating that problems would arise in operating the airport only with the initiative of the municipality, he said that the operation of the airport could be done only with the cooperation and coordination of the federal, state and local governments. According to him, the 700-meter long runway of the airport has been blacktopped and the aircraft has not arrived yet.

Mayor Shrestha informed that the terminal building, which is 24 meters wide and surrounded by fences, has been renovated and painted. It has been four years since the airport waited for a flight. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) had blacktopped the airport and repaired other old infrastructures four years ago by spending Rs 80 million.

Ram Sharma said that the investment made in the airport is like water in the sand when the aircraft does not come. Aircraft with 18-24 seaters can be operated here. The airport is located at Narayansthan of Baglung municipality-14. Regular air service would benefit the people of Baglung district, Parbat and Myagdi districts.

The airport is connected to the Kaligandaki corridor and is 12 kilometers long from Baglung bazaar. The road is in the phase of blacktopping. According to the concerned bodies, there will be no shortage of passengers for operation of the airport after the completion of blacktopping of the Mid-hill Highway and Kaligandaki Corridor.