Two contractors arrested in airport runway scam

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested two contractors for corruption in the construction of the Karipur airport runway. Delhi-based Arora Associates manager director B R Arora and director Madhu Nair from Kerala were held at Kochi.

The CBI had taken over the investigation after allegations of corruption were raised in the construction of runway as part of the night landing of flights at the Karipur airport in 2008. The runway was built using inadequate quantity of Bitumen, it was alleged. Bitumen worth Rs 52 lakh was diverted thus. The CBI had filed cases against four persons, including Airport Authority of India officials.

Meanwhile, there are widespread criticisms against the continuation of the exploitation of passengers in the name of user’s fee since the government had received around six times more amount than it invested in the airport. The HUDCO had funded for the runway expansion.