‘This will be a historic moment’: PM Modi opens Assam’s first Emergency Landing Facility near China border

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday landed on a specially developed highway stretch in Assam that has been built to serve as a runway for fighter jets, nearly 300 kilometres from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in China.

This reinforced concrete highway, stretching 4.2 kilometers on the Dibrugarh-Moran section of NH 127, has been designed to serve as an Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) to help the country respond to any situation in the Northeast.

A video from the launch showed Indian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30MKI and Rafale fighter jets taking off from the Moran Bypass airstrip in the presence of the PM and other officials.

Highway-cum-runway: Built for contingencies

The ELF has been designed in consultation with the Indian Air Force to serve as a backup in case the Dibrugarh Airport or the Chabua Air Force Station is not available because of operational or emergency reasons.

Unlike conventional airfields that could be compromised in a conflict situation, the highway landing strips offer the advantage of redundancy. The Moran ELF has been designed without a central divider to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic. Fencing has been erected on both sides of the highway, and temporary structures erected on the side of the road were removed to meet the safety requirements.

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Reportedly, officials said that the stretch has the potential to support fighter aircraft of up to 40 tonnes in weight and transport aircraft of a maximum take-off weight of 74 tonnes. The stretcher can be used for landing and taking off in emergencies.

Strategic addition in the Northeast

The Moran facility is the first of its kind in Northeast India. While the emergency landing field in the region is the first of this kind, the western, northern, and central parts of the country have already been provided with this facility. However, this stretch of the highway has been developed close to the border of China.

To mark the inauguration of the facility, the Prime Minister’s aircraft made a landing on the highway stretch in Moran and took off from the same stretch, bypassing the Chabua airstrip. As per an official statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, the PM’s flight took off from Delhi at 7:15 am this morning, arrived at Chabua Air Force Station at 9:50 am, and proceeded to Moran to land on the highway stretch around 10 am. The Prime Minister also witnessed a 20-minute air show by fighter aircraft, transport aircraft, and helicopters from the highway stretch in Moran, and took off from the same stretch in a C-130 aircraft for Guwahati.

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“This will be a historic moment for us,” Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier said.

Beyond defence: Disaster response role

The facility has the potential to be of great use in the rescue operations of the people of Assam and the Northeast region, which are often affected by floods and landslides. The stretch of the highway in Upper Assam has the potential to be of great use in the rescue operations of the people of Assam and the Northeast region, which are often affected by floods and landslides.