Second airport for Bengaluru: Demand for Tumakuru grows louder as CM pushes his home turf

Bengaluru: The demand to locate Bengaluru's proposed second international airport in neighbouring Tumakuru district is gathering momentum, even as Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is understood to favour sites in Bengaluru South district because of their proximity to the city's technology and manufacturing hubs.

Deputy CM G Parameshwara on Wednesday backed MoS (Railways and Jal Shakti) V Somanna's proposal to establish the greenfield airport at Sira in Tumakuru, describing the town as a gateway to nearly 20 districts.

"We have been seeking an airport for Tumakuru for the past 25 years, but the government later identified Bidadi and other locations," said Parameshwara, who represents Koratagere assembly constituency in Tumakuru district.


The state government has stepped up the site selection process, with officials surveying land between the Bidadi and Harohalli industrial hubs after Shivakumar recently reviewed the project. Sources said the CM has indicated his preference for locations in or around his Kanakapura assembly constituency.

Shivakumar is keen to steer the project, which is expected to be one of Karnataka's biggest infrastructure investments, much like the late SM Krishna is widely credited with driving the development of Kempegowda international airport at Devanahalli.

Support for the Tumakuru option has cut across party lines. Somanna, the Lok Sabha MP from Tumakuru, wrote to Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, last week, urging that the airport be located at Sira. BJP state president BY Vijayendra has also written to Shivakumar backing Tumakuru, citing its strategic location and regional connectivity.

A group of legislators from central and north Karnataka has argued that Sira would promote balanced regional development while easing congestion at Kempegowda international airport. They said the town lies at the intersection of the Mumbai-Bengaluru and Chennai-Bengaluru industrial corridors, close to the National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) at Tumakuru and KIADB-developed industrial estates.

The legislators also cited Sira's road and rail connectivity, along with the presence of defence and aerospace establishments, including DRDO facilities, the IISc campus at Chitradurga and HAL's helicopter manufacturing unit at Gubbi, to strengthen its case.