Jammu, Oct 09: Marking a significant development in the security concerns of J&K , The Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has got its first landing strip for the fighter aircrafts on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway at Bijbehara in South Kashmir’s Anantnag District.
The three and a half kilometre (3.5) long landing strip on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway at Bijbehara will enable the fighter planes and jets of the Indian Air Force to make emergency landing on the National Highway in case of war like situation as also in case of emergency situations such as floods, earthquakes and other natural calamities.
“The 3.5 km long strip on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway at Bijbehara has been completed for emergency landing and take off of IAF’s fighter planes,” Regional Officer, National Highway Authority (NHAI), Shiv Shanker told Rising Kashmir, adding, “The IAF will soon conduct trials for landing and take off of the fighter planes on this strip”.
After successful landing and take off of the fighter planes and jets, the IAF will give clearance and landing/take off certificate from this 3.5 km long strip .
The strip on the National Highway will also have parking slots for fighter aircrafts, an air traffic control (ATC) tower, and two gates at both ends of the strip on the highway. Other facilities required for landing and take off of fighter planes and jets have also been created along the highway.
The officials revealed that five emergency landing strips were proposed for fighter jets in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Two locations have been finalized between Bijbehara-Chinar Bagh and Srinagar-Banihal, while three others are expected to come up along Jammu-Pathankot, Jammu-Poonch highways and in Ladakh. The strips were planned at the time of the border standoff between Indian and Chinese armies along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
