Modi inaugurates NE’s first emergency airstrip

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday made a historic landing at the first Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) of the northeast aboard the C-130J aircraft in Assam’s Dibrugarh district.
Modi took off from the Chabua airfield after his arrival, and landed at the ELF in Moran on a stretch of National Highway-37.
In a post on X after the inauguration, the PM said “it is a matter of immense pride that the Northeast gets an Emergency Landing Facility”. “From a strategic point of view and during times of natural disasters, this facility is of great importance,” he said.
The Rs 100-crore ELF, a 4.2-km reinforced stretch on the Moran Bypass, which was inaugurated by the PM, will act as a strategic and multi-functional runway for IAF fighter jets and transport aircraft, strengthening defence, logistics and disaster response, officials said.
The facility is designed for both civil and military use, serving as an alternative to the Dibrugarh airport in case of emergency, they said.
The PM was received at the ELF by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and other ministers of the Assam cabinet.
After landing on the runway, Modi drove to the venue nearby from where he witnessed an aerial display of IAF fighter and transport aircraft along with helicopters. The PM was seen waving to the huge crowd that had gathered at the venue to witness the historic event.
Modi was welcomed with a traditional ‘Muga gamosa’ (scarf), and felicitated by Sarma with the Assamese ‘Japi’ (headgear) and a portrait of the last Chutia queen Sati Sadhini, along with a memento from the IAF by the Air Chief Marshal.
‘’Today, as Adarniya @narendramodi ji touched down on the Moran Emergency Landing Facility, built on the Dibrugarh-Moran Highway, it marks a PARADIGM shift in how Bharat is decisively securing the North East Frontier, where the wounds of 1962 are etched in many of our memories,’’ Sarma said in a post on X.
‘’We are exceptionally grateful to Adarniya @narendramodi Ji for pushing the frontiers of possibility when it comes to Assam. We’re witnessing milestones which not long ago was unthinkable and unimaginable. This would have been impossible without his leadership,’’ he added.