Raipur (Chhattisgarh): As ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday landed at the Hindon Airbase in Ghaziabad via Tripura in pursuit of a safe haven given the violent protests back home, the event coincidentally came on the eve of the ninth anniversary of the emergency landing of United Airways Bangladesh aircraft in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur where it is parked for the last nine years now.
Bangladeshi Aircraft Gathering Dust At Raipur Airport: The McDonnell Douglas (MD)-83 aircraft of the now defunct Bangladesh United Airways has been parked at the airport in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh, for the last 9 years after it made an emergency landing. Sources said that the aircraft company has not taken any concrete steps to take back this aircraft, despite repeated emails by the Indian authorities in this regard. Authorities at the Raipur airport have reserved a certain area for parking of the Bangladesh aircraft.
2015 Emergency Landing: It can be recalled that the MD-83 aircraft had taken off from Dhaka to Muscat on 7 August 2015, but soon after taking off, one of its engines failed. A part of it broke off from the plane and fell in a field in Bemetara district, about 90 km from Raipur. After the engine of the plane failed, the pilot contacted Nagpur and Raipur ATC. After after getting permission from Raipur ATC, the plane having 176 passengers on board was safely landed at Raipur airport without any loss of life or property. The passengers in the plane were later sent to their destination by another plane on the second day of landing i.e. on 8 August 2015. Since then, the plane has been standing at Raipur airport for the last 9 years.
Parking Dues Surge To Rs 4 Crore: According to officials, the parking dues of the Bangladesh aircraft have surged to Rs 4 crore, which is no less than a tough job for the airport authority to recover. According to experts, due to being parked for about 9 years, the aircraft is not even fit to fly at present. The airport authorities are now preparing to auction the aircraft and recover the parking amount.
Dr SD Sharma, Director, Swami Vivekanand Airport, Raipur said that several mails and letters to the Bangladeshi authorities have gone unaswered. Advice is also being taken from the law department and further action will be taken as per the instructions received from the headquarters, Sharma said.
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