July 26, 2008	Saturday	Rajab 22, 1429

HYDERABAD, July 25: District Nazim of Hyderabad Kanwar Naveed Jamil has criticised the Civil Aviation Authority for declaring the Hyderabad Airport unfit for flights on the plea that its runway was not in order.

In a statement issued here on Friday, he said that it was amazing that while under the orders of a former prime minister, the airport was declared fit for flights and only the flight schedule was to be announced, but now it had dawned on CAA officials that the airport was not fit for flights.

He said when the new government came into power, he had sent a letter to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat requesting for issuance of flight schedule for Hyderabad airport. The secretariat had called for a report from the Ministry of Defence on the above subject, a copy of which was also received by him, he said.

He said that the Ministry of Defence had replied that it was unprofitable to start the flights. And now that the PIA had issued its schedule to start flights in August, Civil Aviation Authority had declared the runway unfit, he said.

“This is a conspiracy against the people of Hyderabad to deprive them of swift travelling facilities,” the statement said.

The district nazim has appealed to Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and the federal minister from Hyderabad, Syed Naveed Qamar, to take action against the CAA and issue the flight schedule immediately.