The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Saturday (July 11, 2026) organised bike rallies across the Visakhapatnam East, West, North, and South constituencies, demanding that Visakhapatnam Airport remain operational as a domestic facility and not be closed after the opening of Bhogapuram Airport.
The rally began at Gopalapatnam, with party workers submitting representations to Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat and MLAs P.G.V.R. Naidu (Ganababu), P. Vishnu Kumar Raju, Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu, and Vamsi Krishna Srinivas Yadav.
The party contended that residents can currently reach the airport within half an hour from any part of the city, compared to a projected two-hour journey to Bhogapuram. It argued that taxi fares would rise sharply if flights were shifted there.
The party cited the city’s industrial base and its dependence on air connectivity for medical emergencies as reasons to retain domestic operations, while reserving Bhogapuram for international services. The party urged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, and Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan be persuaded or pressured to take action.
CPI(M) district secretary M. Jaggu Naidu led the campaign along with other party functionaries.
Published – July 11, 2026 08:05 pm IST
