PM to inaugurate emergency landing facility on bypass in Assam's Dibrugarh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate an emergency landing facility on a bypass in Dibrugarh district of Assam on February 14 and dedicate to the nation this first-of-its-kind facility in the northeast region, the defence ministry said on Thursday. The facility, on the Moran bypass, opens an identified stretch on the highway as an ''alternative runway'' during contingencies, which would be capable of handling emergency landing and take-off operations of fighters, transport aircraft and helicopters, it said. This will also prove instrumental during humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations in far-flung areas, it said. ''The state of Assam is going to witness a historic event, the inauguration of an Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) on the Moran bypass in Dibrugarh district on February 14. This ELF is the first of its kind in the northeast region,'' the ministry said in a statement. The prime minister will be inaugurating and dedicating this facility to the nation, it said. The occasion holds profound significance towards national security and would also be witnessed by the governor and the chief minister of Assam as well as civil and military dignitaries, it said.