Nagpur : To boost tiger tourism in the state, the Centre has cleared water airports at Pench Dam, Irai Dam and Khindsi Dam in Vidarbha. A team of Airports Authority of India, Director General of Civil Aviation, state aviation department, irrigation department officials and two officers from budget carrier Spice-Jet on Monday inspected the Irai Dam next to Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. There are plans to connect Nagpur with these hinterland dams through amphibian planes to reduce travel time for tourists
The three shortlisted spots are part of the seven identified by the Centre in Maharashtra. While Pench Dam is located in Pench Tiger Reserve, Irai is next to Tadoba. Union shipping minister Nitin Gadkari had earlier conducted seaplane flight trials in Khindsi lake, Nagpur district. “On Monday, we inspected Irai Dam and it seems to be good place for a water airport. On Tuesday, Pench Dam and Khindsi lake were inspected,” said state aviation director Sanjay Karve, who is also part of the inspecting team.
Accompanying the team were two officers from SpiceJet, including the airline’s deputy general manager (operations). According to sources, the airline has plans to get Kodiak Quest 1000 – an eight-seater plane – for tourist operations in the region. SpiceJet, according to sources, plans to buy more than 100 amphibian aircraft at an estimated cost of $400 million. SpiceJet MD Ajay Singh did not respond to calls from this newspaper.
