A visit to Milan by a party of Indian leathermakers has prompted the chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Leather Industries Association to write to India’s newly-appointed Minister of Civil Aviation, requesting more air links via the State’s Kanpur Chakeri Airport.
In the letter, chairman Mohammad Ishaq stated that although the Uttar Pradesh accounted for 18% of the country’s total leather and leather goods exports last year, the Rs2,000 Crores figure attained was nowhere near a reflection of the state’s vast cattle population. As a result, the development of the industry was being held back. A new 300 acre leather technology park / complex at Banthar, Unnao was under development with assistance of government aid, he said, but without effective local air links, it too was unlikely to reach its potential. Mohammad Ishaq put the losses to the leather industry resulting from the situation at around Rs.1500 Crore. This was in spite of the fact that a preliminary survey had found that around 70% of all air traffic at the nearest International Airport of Lucknow, was generated by passengers and freight to and from Uttar Pradesh. He added many multinational companies had considered investing in the city, but had been put off by the long and frequently dangerous drive to and from Lucknow.
In that Kanpur Chakeri airport had benefited from a round of improvements over the past two years and Delhi had reached saturation point, the time was now right for the government to step in and instruct all domestic airlines to include it on their service map, Mohammad Ishaq asserted. In particular, he wanted to see greater governmental effort being made to persuade Emirates Airlines to the airport, as the association was confident a daily flight to and from the international hub of Dubai would prove valuable in generating international trade.
Mohammad Ishaq said he was prompted to write after a recent visit by a delegation of association members to Milan. He described the delegation as being ‘surprised’ at Milan having no less than three International airports within easy reach, despite it being a much smaller city than Kanpur. The chairman concluded by welcoming the minister to his new post and reminding him that it was not just the leather industry that stood to gain from the city gaining improved air links. Other big revenue earners such as Information Technology would also benefit, he said.
