Govt's 'Lifeline Udan' proving pivotal for vital supplies to Northeast region

In this article, senior journalist Chandrakala Choudhury talks about the Union civil aviation ministry’s 'Lifeline Udan' scheme which has come as a blessing to maintain the supply lines of essential goods and medical equipment amid the nation-wide lockdown.

New Delhi: The lockdown imposed due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in India has brought about a situation of acute shortage of medical equipment and essential goods in the Northeast region. But the Union civil aviation ministry’s 'Lifeline Udan' scheme has come as a blessing to maintain the supply lines of essential goods and medical equipment.

'Lifeline Udan' air flights to move medical and essential supplies across the country to meet the requirements of the state governments have a special focus on the Northeast states.

Regional hubs like Kolkata, Bagdogra and Guwahati are connected by turboprop aircraft to the region’s cities like Dibrugarh, Shillong, Aizawl, Agartala, Imphal and Dimapur.

The role of these air operations to cater to emergency services and to ship crucial cargo and medical very critical due to the ongoing lockdown when all commercial scheduled, non-scheduled flights in India have been suspended.

Speaking to the media, Sanjeev Jindal, Regional Executive Director, Airports Authority of India (AAI), said that all the airports in the Northeast region are operating in a single shift with minimum operational staff besides the officers from Air Traffic Control, airport operations, fire, etc to support the cargo movement by both aircraft and helicopters.