New Delhi: Rita and her fellow farmers took the first-ever flight from the Noida International Airport in Jewar on 15 June. From the clouds, the passengers peered out of the window, trying to guess which patch of land below had once been theirs, now replaced by the sprawling 3,300-acre airport.
“I was nervous since it was my first flight. But as we flew, it felt good. I saw clouds, the houses grew smaller and then disappeared. The other women around me were equally in awe,” said Rita, from Khori village, who was joined by 28 other women from nearby villages. It was the first time many of the passengers had ever travelled by an aeroplane.
“Vikas ki Udaan… Yogi sarkar zindabad (A flight of progress…long live Yogi government),” the farmers chanted on the first flight that departed from the airport on Monday. These were the same farmers who once tilled paddy and wheat on the land where the airport now stands.
A week ago, the farmers said that they were informed by Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh Bhati that they would be boarding the first flight from the Noida International Airport. Around 170 farmers boarded the plane to meet Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. As per the airport officials, it was an IndiGo flight that took off from Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow at 7:12 am to ferry the farmers from Noida and landed at 7:58 am in Jewar. The farmers took a later flight back to the Noida International Airport later the same day.
“We thanked CM Yogi Adityanath for the development. We are proud that we gave our land for the development of our area and the country,” said Rita, 50.
Other passengers onboard were Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority officials, including CEO Rakesh Singh, additional CEO Shailendra Bhatia, PCS officer and former Jewar SDM Abhay Singh.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu told reporters during the launch on Monday that the airport will serve as a hub for domestic and international operations. Before flagging off the first commercial flight, Naidu was seen cutting a cake and handing out novelty flight tickets to the passengers.
“The farmers who contributed land for this airport will travel in its inaugural flight to Lucknow, where a special interaction with the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been organised,” said Naidu.
“This (airport) will serve as a hub for both domestic and international operations. Once completed, the Jewar airport is set to become one of the largest airports in Asia,” he added.
Naidu also said that the flights for Bangalore and other destinations also departed on Monday. For now, the airport is equipped to fly at least a dozen flights on a daily basis.
Another passenger, Modak Sharma, one of the 170 farmers who gave up their land, shared that he was amazed to see what had become of their land.
“When the land was taken from us, I was sceptical about whether it would live up to such ambitious promises. But today, I feel proud,” he said.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)