Transparency International India’s Chairman and former Karnataka High Court Judge Justice M F Saldanha has urged the Union Government to defer shifting of the airport from the present HAL airport to Devanahalli International Airport, till alternative commutation was put in place.
In a strongly worded letter to Union Civil Aviation Minister Mr Praful Patel, Justice Saldanha said if the Union Government failed to take corrective measures, the only option would be for Bangaloreans to totally boycott the new airport.
In the first place, over Rs 20,000 crore had been spent on expanding the existing terminals and facilities, all of which cannot be written off. Besides, Bangalore has a very high density of domestic traffic and there is no way that the passengers can be blackmailed into spending over Rs 1,000 each way, paying airport tax and shortening their lives by making three hour journey either way when they undertake short domestic flights, Justice Saldanha noted.
As of now, there is absolutely no infrastructure available for approaching the new terminal, he added.
