The Cholavaram Airstrip, or Sholavaram Airstrip, is an unused airstrip near Cholavaram, Chennai. It was originally operated by the Royal Air Force as an airbase during World War II. After the war it was abandoned until the airstrip was turned into a venue for drag racing. Most notably, the famous Malayalam actor Jayan was killed in a helicopter accident here during the shooting of his film Kolilakkam on 16 November 1980.
The Indian Army later recovered the lands, which had been illegally occupied by local residents.[1][2][3] The military used the area and the remaining airstrip as a surveillance base.[4] There were also plans to use the airport as a secondary landing location for commercial aircraft.[5] As of now the airstrip is used by locals for flying RC planes, helicopters and drones. The Tamilnadu Government is also planning to convert this facility into a UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) training range along with a Drone port for Indian Armed Forces.[6]
In 2020, the airstrip was taken over by the Government of India, with plans to construct a new airport under the UDAN scheme.[7][8]
References
edit- ^ "Chennai: Land registration around Sholavaram airstrip halted". content.magicbricks.com. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ "IAF retrieves World War 2 era airstrip from encroachers at Sholavaram". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ Kabirdoss, Yogesh (August 5, 2019). "Drive to retrieve Sholavaram land uncovers WWII airstrip". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ Kabirdoss, Yogesh (March 11, 2019). "IAF to turn unused Sholavaram airstrip into its first east coast surveillance base". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ Kabirdoss, Yogesh; Ayyappan, V. (December 28, 2018). "IAF notice: Squatters near Sholavaram airstrip get IAF notice". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ Shivakumar, C. (2022-04-01). "Defence Ministry delays nod, India's first UAS training range in Ulundurpet remains grounded". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
- ^ Ramakrishnan, T. (2016-11-22). "Centre identifies 13 unserved airports in TN under Udan scheme". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ "Sholavaram could be go-to strip as Udan flights choke Chennai airport". The Times of India. March 14, 2019. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
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