President Pratibha Patil inaugurates Baljek Airport on Thursday as Meghalaya Governor R.S Mooshahary looks on. (PTI)

Tura, Oct. 23: Baljek Airport witnessed a 19-seater Dornier touch down on its gleaming runway this afternoon, 13 years after the project was given the nod.

Cheered by thousands, President Pratibha Patil declared the airport open at Jengjal, 33km from Tura in West Garo Hills, soon after the landing.

There was an air of festivity as the long wait for the airport to start functio- ning drew to a close. Garo dancers performed a spirited Wangala prior to the inauguration.

When the President greeted the people in Garo language, there was loud applause and cheers from the audience.

“Garo Hillsni manderangna President salamko on-chenga. Angni ka-sara ripengrang da-alo anga na simangko grongna (First of all, greetings of the President for the people of Garo Hills. I am happy to be with you),” she said.

This is the second airport in Meghalaya after Umroi in Ri Bhoi district.

The airport, built at a cost of Rs 12.52 crore, was not free from controversies though. A proposal was sent to the Centre in 1983 to construct an airport at Baljek and the project was sanctioned in 1995.

There was delay in the inauguration of the project because of the lack of necessary infrastructure.

The president’s secretariat had initially objected to the inauguration, saying the project was too small to be opened by her.

However, under pressure from the state government, the president agreed to inaugurate the project.

Dedicating Baljek to the people of Meghalaya, the president said the airport would help connect the Garo Hills with the rest of the country and would encourage tourism, which is an important engine for growth.

She said the opening of the airport would help people from other parts of the country visit “the beautiful Garo Hills to enjoy its great scenic beauty and cultural heritage”.

Greater intra-regional movement would generate possibilities of reinforcing the development of the Northeast as a whole, she said.

Garo strongman and chairman of the State Planning Board, P.A. Sangma, said the airport would help send perishable horticultural produce to markets outside the region.

He said the air connectivity would promote the overall development of the region.

Sangma said the state government hopes to start regular flights from Baljek Airport from December.

Meghalaya Governor R.S. Mooshahary hoped that the inauguration of Baljek Airport would bring about prosperity to the region, as more investment opportunities would be opened to Garo Hills.