Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha (son of former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha) has hinted that the Ministery has identified Nagarjunasagar Irrigation Project in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as one of the 10 projects for setting up ‘Water Aerodromes’ as part of the Centre’s ambitions ‘Udan’ RCS (Regional Connectivity Scheme) to link smaller cities with major Airports in the country.

Sinha was replying to a query in Rajya Sabha when he confirmed that Nagarjunasagar was indeed one among the 10 places where ‘Water Aerodromes’ are to be set up based on a pre-feasibility study carried by a multi-disciplinary team of Airports Authority of India (AAI), which runs and maintains 172 Airports across the country.

Bids would soon be called for by the Ministry of Civil Aviation under its ambitious RCS scheme. Once set in motion, these ‘Water Aerodromes’ would witness the landing and taking-off of amphibious planes. Sardar Sarovar Dam (Gujarat), Samarmati Riverfront (Ahmedabad), two more places in Gujarat, Assam and Maharashtra and one place in Uttarakhand besides Nagarjunasagar make up the ten proposed ‘Water Aerodrome’ sites.

Locals in Nagarjunasagar feel that they are not sure why the Centre has decided to set up a ‘Water Aerodrome’ instead of reviving the existing air-strip on the Guntur side which remains unused/unattended since 1955. Constructed for 11 years from 1956 till 1967 and standing majestically at a height of 15,956 feet (4863 meters), the Nagarjunasagr Dam is the largest and highest masonry dam in the world.