Use choppers to transport VIPs from airport, says AVM

Amid repeated traffic disruptions on the road connecting Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport to the city, the Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) has urged the district administration to adopt helicopter services for transporting VIPs and political dignitaries.

The airport road is routinely closed for security reasons during election-related activities or whenever high-profile leaders arrive in the city. This regularly causes severe inconvenience to thousands of daily commuters, including air passengers, schoolchildren and patients being transported in ambulances.

Residents often find themselves stuck for hours in traffic snarls stretching from the Court Complex to the airport. “To safely escort just one or two VIPs, the administration ends up halting the movement of ambulances, taxis carrying passengers, school buses and private vehicles. This is not justified,” said AVM patron Kulwant Singh Ankhi.

Other members of the organisation including Manmohan Singh Brar, Hardeep Singh Chahal, president Surinderjit Singh, senior vice-president Rajwinder Singh Gill, secretaries Jaspal Singh and Kawaljit Singh Bhatia, overseas secretary Sameep Singh Gumtala, and members Kuldeep Singh Boparai and Jatinder Pal Singh, have collectively appealed for an alternative arrangement that ensures public convenience.

The Manch has proposed that VIPs be transported by helicopter directly from the airport to a designated helipad at Ranjit Avenue. From there, they can be driven to their destinations through the Municipal Corporation Office road, Old Jail Road and Mall Road towards Sri Harmandir Sahib or other venues. The AVM further suggested that additional helipads be constructed at Jahaaz Garh and near the Punjab Roadways office.

Calling it the administration’s responsibility to protect both public ease and VIP security, the Manch highlighted that several major hospitals and densely populated residential areas are located along the airport stretch, making frequent road closures particularly burdensome for the public.